Oracle Plans Thousands of Job Cuts in Face of AI Cash Crunch
(Bloomberg) — Oracle Corp. plans to cut thousands of jobs amid moves to ease a cash crunch resulting from a massive AI data center expansion effort.
The layoffs will affect divisions across the company and could be implemented as soon as this month, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing the plans, which are still private. Some of the cuts will be to job categories that the company expects will have less need due to artificial intelligence, two sources said.
Led by Chairman Larry Ellison, Oracle is embarking on a historic buildout of data centers to power the AI workloads of customers like OpenAI. The company has long been known for its database software, along with market leaders Amazon.com Inc. and has been shifting over the past few years to grow its AI-focused cloud computing unit, aiming to be a viable rival to Microsoft Corp.
Wall Street predicts that the cloud unit’s spending on data centers will negatively impact Oracle’s cash flow in the coming years before the expenses begin to pay off in 2030, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Last month, Oracle said it would generate up to $50 billion in revenue this year through a combination of debt and equity sales.
The planned reductions are expected to be more far-reaching than the company’s typical permanent layoffs, sources said. This week, Oracle announced it would review most job openings in its on-premises cloud division, effectively slowing or freezing its hiring process, according to people with knowledge of the move.
Oracle declined to comment. As of the end of May 2025, the company had approximately 162,000 employees worldwide. Planning for workforce reductions is still active and could change, sources said.
Oracle’s early moves as an AI cloud provider won favor with investors, with investors pushing its shares up 61% in 2024 and 20% last year. But as costs rose, the market appeared to turn against the company, and shares fell 54% from their high in September 2025 to Wednesday’s close.
Following the report, the stock gave up earlier gains on Thursday, falling as much as 1.5% to $150.12.
The high up-front costs of AI have increased disruption in the tech industry as companies try to balance their budgets. Microsoft cut nearly 15,000 jobs last year due to increased spending on data centers and artificial intelligence software development. Last week, Block Inc. announced it would lay off nearly half its staff, and co-founder Jack Dorsey noted the productivity-boosting power of artificial intelligence.
In September, Oracle announced in a filing that it was planning its biggest restructuring ever; This restructuring is expected to cost $1.6 billion in the current fiscal year ending in May, including severance checks for current employees. This was much larger than other similar plans Oracle had announced. The company is scheduled to report third-quarter financial results on Tuesday.
(Updated with share transfer in the eighth paragraph.)
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