Oracle Cuts 21,000 Jobs to Fund AI Infrastructure Pivot

Oracle Corp. reduced its global workforce by approximately 21,000 employees during fiscal year 2026, bringing its total headcount from 162,000 down to 141,000 as of May 31, 2026. In an annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 22, the company explicitly attributed the 13 percent reduction to the adoption and deployment of artificial intelligence technologies, strategic shifts, and performance issues. The restructuring cost the company $1.84 billion in severance and exit payments, a sharp increase from $374 million the previous year.

Layoffs were most concentrated in the Health Sciences division, with specific cuts affecting 741 employees in Seattle and 500 employees in Bucharest. Meanwhile, cloud and AI operations were expanded to support a strategic pivot toward capital-heavy infrastructure. Oracle is investing heavily in data centers to compete with Microsoft and Amazon, signing major agreements with OpenAI and Meta Platforms.

To fund a projected $70 billion net capital expenditure, Oracle raised $48 billion through debt and equity in fiscal 2026 and plans to raise another $40 billion in fiscal 2027. Despite these costs and a negative free cash flow of approximately $23.7 billion, the company posted record annual revenue of $67.4 billion and increased its fiscal year 2027 revenue guidance to $90 billion.