Oracle Corporation has begun a fresh round of layoffs affecting thousands of employees globally, according to a report by CNBC, as the software major accelerates investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Citing people familiar with the matter, CNBC reported that the job cuts run into the thousands, with roles impacted across multiple divisions. The company has also disclosed plans to lay off 491 employees in Seattle and remote roles, effective June 1, under a regulatory filing.

The layoffs are part of a broader restructuring exercise tied to rising spending on AI data centres and cloud infrastructure. Oracle is expected to incur up to $2.1 billion in costs related to this restructuring in fiscal 2026, largely driven by severance and related expenses.

Other reports indicate that the cuts span multiple geographies, including the US and India, and it is estimated that around 30,000 layoffs have happened globally, while 12,000 jobs were cut in India alone. 

Layoff emails sent at dawn

Many reports stated that the layoffs were communicated abruptly, with employees across geographies receiving emails early in the morning informing them of their termination.

According to these reports, the emails were sent at around 6 am local time, catching many employees off guard at the start of the workday. The communication, sent by Oracle leadership, stated that the company had “made the decision to eliminate your role,” with the change taking effect immediately. Employees were informed that their access to internal systems would be revoked shortly after receiving the email.

The email also directed impacted staff to await further communication on severance, benefits, and next steps, often via personal email IDs, as access to official systems was being discontinued. In several cases, employees reported being locked out of their work accounts within hours.

Several affected employees took to Reddit and X, where posts detailing termination emails and timelines quickly became a way to piece together the scale of the layoffs. On a Subreddit named "r/developersIndia", employees mentioned how there was no prior intimation about the layoffs. A user said, "bloodbath (sic) happened today in India. Everyone who got laid off got a letter around 6am without a 1-1 call with HR or managers."

The r/employeesofOracle Subreddit also saw a spike in activity as many shared screenshots and created discussion forums. A Reddit user based in the US said, "I did not expect Oracle to lay off this many people, but as of right now slack channel reports 10k drop in 1 day. Half of my team in the OCI department in the US is gone. No goodbyes, just deactivated slack accounts. I really did not want to believe that Bloomberg article of 30k layoffs. I'm hoping this is the end of it. So many people from IC5 to IC2."

Severance and exit terms

According to documents reviewed by Business Insider, affected US employees have been offered a severance package that includes four weeks of base salary for the first year of employment, along with an additional week’s pay for each subsequent year of service, capped at 26 weeks.

Employees were required to complete termination-related documentation to access severance benefits, with further details shared via official communication channels. Other reports suggest that impacted staff were asked to provide personal email addresses to receive follow-up information related to their exit.