Oracle cuts 21,000 jobs in a year while investing billions in AI infrastructure

23 June,2026 12:12 PM IST |  New Delhi  |  mid-day online correspondent

Oracle has acknowledged that the adoption of AI technologies contributed to workforce reductions, with its global employee count dropping by around 21,000 over the past year. The company said restructuring costs reached USD 1.8 billion as it continues investing heavily in AI infrastructure

Representational image. (Screengrab from X)


Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio

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 (AI) technologies contributed to some of the job cuts.

According to IANS, Oracle, in its annual financial regulatory filing, said that its global workforce stood at 141,000 full-time employees as of May 31, down from 162,000 a year earlier.

The global IT firm, while filing the regulatory financials, noted, "The adoption and deployment of AI technologies across our operations have resulted, and may continue to result, in reductions to our workforce."

They further added that the workforce reduction resulted in restructuring costs of about $1.8 billion.

Oracle continues to invest heavily in building AI infrastructure

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, as per IANS.

Additionally, Oracle's headcount has fallen slightly below levels seen before its 2022 acquisition of electronic health records firm Cerner.

Oracle's layoff paints a bigger picture

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.

However, a report further suggested the company reported its largest-ever quarterly results alongside an AI-focused expansion and a contracted backlog that now exceeds its market value.

Reacting to the layoff, several employees working at the global IT firm 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.

(With inputs from IANS)

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
Artificial Intelligence world news news Technology News business
Related Stories