'Today is your last working day': Oracle begins fresh layoffs as company ramps up AI infra spending

Oracle began a new round of layoffs by sending a notification to impacted employees on Monday.

"After careful consideration of Oracle's current business needs, we have made the decision to eliminate your role as part of a broader organizational change," the layoff notification email said, according to Business Insider. "As a result, today is your last working day."

The email thanked employees for their contributions and said they would be eligible for a severance package after signing termination paperwork.

Employees affected by the cuts were offered four weeks of base salary plus one additional week for each year of employment, according to the report.

It also instructed employees to provide a personal email address to receive follow-up information, including separation documents and frequently asked questions.

"Access to your computer, email, voicemail, and files will be deactivated soon," the email said.

Employees were also reminded that they were prohibited from downloading, copying or retaining Oracle's confidential information.

The latest layoffs follow cuts earlier this year.

Oracle's workforce fell by about 21,000 employees during the fiscal year ended May 31, according to a recent company filing.

The company had about 141,000 employees before the latest round of cuts.

Business Insider reported last month that Oracle had drawn up plans for another round of job cuts as the company seeks to reduce payroll as it took billions of dollars of debt to finance investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The planned reductions were expected to reach double-digit percentages on some teams.

Oracle has been increasing spending on data centres as it bets on growing demand for AI computing.

The company reported $28.5 billion in capital expenditures in its fiscal first quarter, up from $8.5 billion a year earlier, and maintained its fiscal 2027 capital expenditure forecast at $90 billion to $95 billion.

The company has also taken on substantial debt to finance its expansion, raising concerns among investors over whether its AI infrastructure investments will generate sufficient returns.

Oracle's standard severance plan, as previously reported by Business Insider, provides four weeks of base salary for the first year of employment and one additional week's salary for each subsequent year, subject to a maximum of 26 weeks.

The report also underlined that Oracle's package appeared less generous than severance policies at some other large technology companies.

Salesforce's standard policy provides up to 30 weeks of severance, while Microsoft offered up to 39 weeks' base pay in its latest round of layoffs, according to Business Insider.