Oracle cuts 21,000 jobs in a year, cites AI-driven workforce reductions
New Delhi, June 23
Oracle Corp. -- a global technology company that reduced its workforce by around 21,000 employees over the past 12 months -- has acknowledged that the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies contributed to some of the job cuts.
In its annual financial regulatory filing, the company has said its global workforce stood at 141,000 full-time employees as of May 31, down from 162,000 a year earlier.
"The adoption and deployment of AI technologies across our operations have resulted, and may continue to result, in reductions to our workforce," the company said in the filing.
The workforce reduction resulted in restructuring costs of about $1.8 billion, it added.
However, the disclosure comes as Oracle continues to invest heavily in building AI infrastructure and data centres to meet growing demand from customers, including OpenAI.
The company has been expanding its AI capabilities amid intensifying competition among major cloud service providers.
As of the end of May, Oracle employed about 49,000 workers in the United States and around 92,000 internationally.
In addition, the company's headcount has fallen slightly below levels seen before its 2022 acquisition of electronic health records firm Cerner.
Moreover, the latest figures shed light on the scale of layoffs that have taken place across Oracle's operations in recent months.
Earlier this year, reports indicated that Oracle had begun laying off employees globally, with affected workers receiving early-morning emails informing them that their employment had been terminated.
Several employees took to social media platforms to report receiving the notifications, which were said to have started arriving in inboxes at around 6 am (local time in the US).
The latest filing marks one of the clearest indications yet of how AI adoption is beginning to reshape workforce requirements across major technology companies.
— IANS
Reader Comments
And they're investing billions in AI infrastructure while cutting jobs. The same story everywhere—profits first, people later. Many Indian employees in Oracle's support and maintenance teams must be worried. I hope our government and companies start serious retraining programs.
Before everyone panics, remember Oracle also acquired Cerner and had to restructure. Not all cuts are purely AI-driven. But yes, AI is definitely accelerating the shift. The key takeaway for Indian IT professionals: learn to work with AI, not against it. जय हिंद!
As someone in tech, this doesn't surprise me. Oracle's cloud business is growing but they're streamlining. The scary part is the early-morning termination emails—zero empathy. International workers in India, Philippines, etc. are often the first to go. Corporate America at its finest.
AI adoption in workforce reduction is a double-edged sword. On one hand, we need efficiency. On the other, people's livelihoods are at stake. Oracle's decision to cut 21,000 jobs—many of them in India I'm sure—shows how fragile job security has become. Time to build our own AI startups. 🇮🇳
My cousin worked at Oracle's Hyderabad office and got laid off last month. It's heartbreaking. The company talks about "AI-driven efficiencies" but doesn't care about the human cost. Respectfully, while AI is the future, companies need to handle transitions with more compassion and notice period.
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