Oracle layoffs: 12,000 in India out, more job cuts expected ahead; severance tied to voluntary exit

US-based software firm Oracle has laid off about 12,000 employees in India and is planning another round of job cuts within a month, reported PTI on Tuesday, citing impacted employees.

The layoffs affect a significant portion of Oracle’s roughly 30,000-strong workforce in the country.

Employees were informed of “organisational changes” and told their roles would become redundant as the company moves to streamline operations, according to an internal email.

"In India, around 12,000 employees have been laid off. The company is planning another mass layoff within a month," said two people impacted by the retrenchment, including one from the company's human resource department.

The company has offered severance that includes 15 days’ salary for each completed year of service, a one-month notice period payout, leave encashment and gratuity where applicable, along with a two-month salary top-up.

The severance package, however, is contingent on employees voluntarily resigning, according to the report.

An ex-employee of Oracle, Merugu Sridhar, said that he was laid off in September for protesting against the 16-hour work shift that the company has in India.

"I contacted my friends and those who are in human resources. They shared that most of the Indians working in the US with the company have been impacted because the local laws there are very strict when it comes to the retrenchment of their citizens," Sridhar said.

The job cuts come as Oracle accelerates spending on data centres to meet surging demand for AI computing, even as it trails larger cloud rivals such as Amazon in scale.

The company has been tapping debt markets to fund expansion and in January outlined plans to raise $50 billion through debt and equity.

Oracle’s shares have fallen about 25% so far this year, underperforming other major technology companies.