The layoff email arrived at 6 in the morning, with a brief note. This is what many accounts of former employees on social media state after reports of Oracle, one of the world's largest enterprise software and cloud companies, launched a sweeping round of layoffs this week.
Reports from CNBC and Business Insider stated that it affected thousands of workers globally. India is emerging as one of the worst-hit countries. Two people familiar with the matter told CNBC that the cuts are expected to number in the thousands.
Many have reportedly estimated that the total could be as high as 20,000 to 30,000, which would be roughly 18 per cent of Oracle’s 162,000-strong global workforce as of May 2025. Oracle neither commented on the scale of the cuts nor provided an official announcement.
The layoffs are said to have been driven by a single, overriding force: artificial intelligence. Oracle, under chairman Larry Ellison, seems to have placed an all-in bet to become a top-tier AI cloud provider, competing with the likes of Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. And building the data centre infrastructure needed to support AI workloads requires enormous capital.
And it looks like Oracle is freeing up cash by cutting roles it believes AI will make redundant. In a March 2026 SEC filing, the company said it expects total costs tied to its fiscal 2026 restructuring plan to reach up to $2.1 billion, largely from severance and related expenses.
India, one of Oracle's largest engineering hubs globally, has been among the most severely impacted. Approximately 12,000 employees in India have reportedly been laid off, out of a domestic workforce of around 30,00, a cut of roughly 40 per cent of its India headcount. Employees described receiving abrupt termination emails as early as 5–6 am with immediate effect, leaving them locked out of systems. A second round of layoffs in India is expected within a month, reports further state.