Oracle shed about 21,000 roles globally in the last year, the US technology giant’s latest annual report reveals, as it reshapes its business around artificial intelligence (AI). The software and cloud computing firm said it had around 141,000 full-time employees as of 31 May 2026, down from about 162,000 workers the same time last year. The cuts, amounting to roughly 13% of its workforce, are part of a wider trend among tech firms spending hundreds of billions of dollars on AI infrastructure.
The company’s report explicitly linked the redundancies to AI. “The deployment of AI technologies across our operations have resulted, and may continue to result, in reductions to our workforce,” it said. Oracle made “significant” job cuts in April, according to senior employees posting online, but the full extent had not been revealed until the annual report was filed. The redundancies have cost the firm about $1.8bn (£1.36bn) in severance payments and other restructuring costs over the past year – a sum drastically higher than the $374m restructuring bill in the previous financial year.
“Oracle cut 21,000 jobs last year as it shifts focus to AI, spending $1.8bn on severance.”
The restructuring, however, carries risks. Oracle warned that the reorganisation “can be disruptive” and may lead to a shortage of skilled workers in certain roles, resulting in lost productivity that could hit its earnings. The BBC has contacted Oracle for further comment.
The job cuts come as Oracle races to roll out data centres for AI giants like OpenAI and Meta. The BBC previously reported that Oracle planned to spend at least $50bn on infrastructure this year. The company was co-founded by Larry Ellison, one of the richest people in the world, who also serves as Oracle’s chief technology officer.
Oracle is far from alone. More than 100,000 tech workers have been laid off in the past year, according to estimates from employment tracking firms. Amazon and Facebook-owner Meta have cut thousands of jobs in recent months as they invest heavily in AI. Google, Amazon and Meta collectively plan to pour some $650bn into the technology this year. Amazon alone said it plans to spend $200bn over the next year on AI investments, while also cutting about 30,000 jobs in several rounds of layoffs. A senior executive at Amazon said in an internal note last October that the company needed to be organised “more leanly” because AI was “enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before.”