Thousands of employees at Oracle were reportedly informed early Tuesday that their roles had been eliminated, in what could be one of the company’s largest workforce reductions to date. Internal communication sent around 6 am notified staff that their positions had been terminated with immediate effect.

Estimates suggest that as many as 30,000 employees — nearly 18 per cent of Oracle’s global headcount — may be impacted. In India alone, reports indicate that up to 12,000 workers could be affected, though the company has not officially confirmed these figures.

Immediate exits, limited official clarity

Those affected were reportedly relieved of duties right away, regardless of seniority or tenure. While Oracle has not publicly disclosed the scale of the layoffs or the compensation structure being offered, details have begun circulating on social media platforms and employee forums.

Reported severance package for India staff

Posts shared on Reddit, particularly on a forum for Oracle employees, outline what appears to be the severance framework for staff at the India Development Centre (IDC) in Bengaluru.

According to these posts, impacted employees may receive:

• 15 days of base pay for every completed year of service
• Encashment of unused annual leave
• An ex-gratia component that includes two months’ salary plus an additional 15 days’ pay per year of service
• One month of gardening leave salary (or equivalent payout)
• A lump sum of Rs 20,000 towards insurance

If accurate, the total payout for many employees could amount to over three months’ salary, excluding leave encashment and tenure-linked benefits. However, compensation is likely to differ based on role and grade.

Severance in the US

In the United States, reports indicate that Oracle is offering severance of up to 26 weeks. The structure is said to include four weeks of base salary, along with one additional week for each year of employment, capped at six months.

For comparison, Meta previously provided 16 weeks of pay plus health coverage during its layoffs, while fintech firm Block, led by Jack Dorsey, reportedly offered around 20 weeks of severance.

Earlier this year, Amazon also reduced its global workforce by approximately 16,000 employees, with affected staff receiving 90 days of pay and benefits.

Why Oracle is cutting jobs

The job reductions come as Oracle accelerates its investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company has reportedly entered a $156 billion agreement to develop AI-focused data centres over five years, primarily supporting projects linked to OpenAI.

To build out this capacity, Oracle is expected to significantly increase capital expenditure on advanced computing chips and cloud infrastructure. Spending in this segment is believed to have surged dramatically over the past two years.

According to estimates from investment bank TD Cowen, the workforce reduction could potentially generate between $8 billion and $10 billion in additional cash flow — funds that may be redirected toward AI expansion and debt management. As of mid-2025, Oracle’s global employee count stood at roughly 162,000, and the company is reportedly managing debt exceeding $100 billion.

Multiple divisions — including Health, Sales, Cloud, Customer Success and NetSuite — are said to have been affected. There is also speculation that further restructuring could follow as Oracle realigns operations to support its long-term AI ambitions.