No warning. No HR call. Just a cold email at dawn.
Oracle has reportedly eliminated between 10,000 and 12,000 jobs in India alone. These cuts are part of a wider global cull of approximately 30,000 employees, representing nearly 20% of the company’s 162,000-strong workforce. The layoffs, which arrived via early-morning emails on Tuesday, highlight a pivot toward AI that is leaving traditional tech roles in the dust.
Many employees woke up to find they were already locked out of internal systems, with their only point of contact being a termination email from “Oracle Leadership.”
“…a decision has been taken to streamline the operations, and as a result, unfortunately, the position you currently hold will become redundant,” the email read, according to a report by The Economic Times.
The impact in India is particularly heavy because the country serves as Oracle’s largest hub outside the United States. With a workforce of 50,000 in India, nearly one in every four or five employees has been shown the door. The cuts spanned from junior “Individual Contributor” roles to high-level software engineering managers.
Why now? The $156 billion AI gamble
The primary driver behind this reduction in force isn’t a lack of work, but a change in priorities. Oracle is currently engaged in a high-stakes arms race to dominate AI infrastructure, participating in the $500 billion “Stargate” initiative alongside OpenAI and SoftBank.
However, building data centers and buying thousands of GPUs is incredibly expensive. Analysts at TD Cowen suggest that laying off 30,000 people could free up between $8 billion and $10 billion in cash flow, money Oracle desperately needs to fund its $156 billion capital expenditure plans.
Severance with strings attached
While Oracle is offering severance, it isn’t exactly a “no-questions-asked” parting gift. In India, reports suggest the package includes 15 days of base salary per year of service, a one-month notice period payout, and a two-month ex gratia top-up.
However, there is a catch: the full payout is reportedly contingent on the employee signing a voluntary resignation. On Reddit, one user under the handle u/Lavishness897 broke down the formula used at the India Development Centre (IDC):
“It is 15 days per year + annual leave + (ex gratia – additional 15 days per year + 2 months) + 1 month garden leave or in lieu salary + 20k for insurance,”
In the US, the package is slightly different, offering four weeks of base pay plus one week for every year of service, capped at 26 weeks. Crucially, many employees stand to lose their Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) if their vesting date falls even a few days after the layoff date.
Not alone in the bloodbath
Oracle’s restructuring follows similar moves this year from Meta, Amazon, Block, and Atlassian, among others, as companies focus on their AI-related developments.
More than 70 tech companies have cut around 40,480 jobs so far this year, according to Layoffs.fyi, an independent tracker for tech company layoffs.
Michael Shepherd, a senior manager at Oracle who was not affected by the job cuts, wrote on LinkedIn that “senior engineers, architects, operations leaders, program managers, and technical specialists” had been let go. “The individuals affected were not let go because of anything they did or didn’t do,” he added, per BBC.
Reports suggest another round of layoffs could happen within weeks, with cuts already expected in other regions, including Europe.
Also read: If you’re navigating the AI job market, check out these 10 AI roles you can land without a computer science degree.