Oracle reduced its workforce by 13% in fiscal 2026, eliminating about 21,000 jobs as part of a broad restructuring that is partly tied to faster adoption of artificial intelligence across the company. In its annual report released Monday, the cloud computing giant said it had 141,000 employees as of May 31, 2026, down from about 162,000 a year earlier.
The company said it spent $1.84 billion on severance and other departure costs this fiscal year, sharply above the $374 million it recorded for the same item in the previous fiscal year. Oracle said the staffing changes were driven by several factors, including management changes, product changes, performance issues, strategic shifts and acquisitions. The latest cuts follow earlier reports this year that Oracle had already laid off thousands of workers.
The reductions come as tech companies face growing concern over AI's effect on employment. According to Layoffs.fyi, 196 tech companies have cut more than 119,800 jobs since the start of the year. Oracle's move is part of a wider upheaval across the sector.
Although Oracle has long been seen as a smaller player in cloud computing than the leaders, it has recently pursued aggressive expansion, including major data center deals with OpenAI and Meta to compete with Amazon and Microsoft. But its financial model is under strain, unlike rivals that fund heavy investment from strong cash flow. Oracle has been burning cash and taking on debt, its stock is down about 10% this year, and it recently said net capital spending is expected to reach about $70 billion in the current fiscal year. To meet that funding need, it plans to raise another $40 billion through debt and equity, including a previously announced $20 billion share offering.
