Oracle Corp is preparing to axe thousands of roles as it grapples with a significant cash crunch brought on by its aggressive expansion into AI data centres. These job cuts, which could be implemented as early as this month, are expected to hit divisions across the entire company.
According to those familiar with the matter, the restructuring is partly driven by a shift in requirements, with certain traditional job categories being phased out in favour of AI-driven automation.
Under the leadership of Chairman Larry Ellison, Oracle has committed to a massive infrastructure build-out to support AI workloads for major clients like OpenAI. While the company has spent years transitioning from its heritage in database software to becoming a serious cloud competitor to Amazon and Microsoft, the financial toll of this pivot is becoming clear. Market analysts suggest that these heavy capital expenditures will likely push Oracle’s cash flow into negative territory for several years, with the investment not expected to fully pay off until 2030.
In an attempt to shore up its finances, the company recently announced plans to raise up to $50 billion this year through a mix of debt and equity.
Internal moves suggest the scale of the belt-tightening is broader than the company's usual rolling staff adjustments. Sources indicate that Oracle has already started reviewing and freezing open positions within its cloud division. This shift in strategy follows a volatile period for the company’s valuation; while investors initially cheered Oracle’s AI ambitions— driving the stock up over 60 per cent in 2024 — the market has since soured as costs have spiralled. The share price has fallen by over 50 pc since its peak in September 2025.
Oracle is certainly not alone in this trend. The staggering costs involved in the race for AI have resulted in massive redundancies in the tech industry. Last year, Microsoft cut 15,000 jobs to offset data centre spending, and only last week, Block Inc. announced it was letting go of nearly half its workforce.
The scale of Oracle's current predicament was hinted at in a September filing, which detailed a record-breaking $1.6 billion restructuring plan for the fiscal year ending in May. This sum, largely earmarked for severance payments, represents the most significant shake-up in the company's history. With fiscal third-quarter earnings due to be announced this Tuesday, the industry is watching closely to see how the tech giant intends to balance its lofty AI visions with its increasingly strained balance sheet.
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