Oracle has reportedly initiated a massive wave of layoffs, with internal estimates suggesting up to 10,000 employees have been let go as the tech giant redirects billions of dollars into artificial intelligence infrastructure.
According to posts from current and former staff on professional networks like LinkedIn, the sweeping workforce reduction has impacted a wide array of high-level roles. Michael Shepherd, a senior manager who retained his position, noted that the company axed technical specialists, program managers, operations leaders, senior engineers, and architects.
Shepherd emphasized that the dismissals were not tied to performance metrics.
"The individuals affected were not let go because of anything they did or didn't do," he wrote.
Former employee Kendall Levin also confirmed her termination, describing it as part of a "mass reduction in force." Affected staff reportedly received sudden early-morning emails notifying them of their departure, along with a one-month severance package. While Oracle has not publicly confirmed the total number of layoffs, one employee cited a steep drop in active users on the company's internal Slack network, pointing to an estimated 10,000 severed accounts.
Oracle has officially declined to comment on the restructuring.
The sweeping layoffs arrive in the wake of Oracle's aggressive corporate pivot toward artificial intelligence. Executives have previously touted how internal AI tools have boosted productivity, echoing a broader tech industry trend—seen at companies like Meta and Block—where leadership claims AI allows them to operate effectively with leaner headcounts. Other major tech firms, including Amazon, Pinterest, and Epic Games, have also executed substantial layoffs this year.
The cloud computing and software giant, co-founded by billionaire Larry Ellison, is currently pouring staggering amounts of capital into AI development. Oracle plans to invest a minimum of $50 billion this year into AI infrastructure alone, recently raising an equal amount in debt to keep up with surging market demand.
Co-chief executive Clayton Magouyrk recently acknowledged the financial realities of the pivot, stating that while investing in AI infrastructure is highly capital-intensive, the company's operating model is optimized for profitability amid the "unprecedented" scale-up.
Furthermore, Oracle is a key player in the "Stargate" initiative—a colossal $500 billion joint venture alongside OpenAI, SoftBank, and the MGX investment fund, which is backed by US President Donald Trump. The ambitious project aims to exponentially expand data center capacity across the United States to support the massive processing requirements of next-generation AI technologies.