Oracle’s total workforce declined 13%, or about 21 000 employees, in its 2026 financial year, as the software giant continued restructuring its business, partly driven by the adoption of AI across its operations.
The company had a total workforce of 141 000 as of 31 May 2026, compared with about 162 000 as of the same period last year, according to its annual report released on Monday.
Oracle spent US$1.84-billion in severance payments and other exit costs related to the restructuring activities in FY2026, significantly higher than the $374-million spent in the previous fiscal year, the filing showed.
It also said in its filing that the workforce adjustments were in response to various factors, including management and product changes, performance issues, strategic shifts and acquisitions.
The decline in the workforce follows multiple reports earlier this year about Oracle cutting thousands of jobs. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Worries are quickly mounting over job losses due to AI disruption, as 196 tech companies laid off more than 119 800 employees so far this year, according to Layoffs.fyi, a website tracking sector-wide job cuts.
Burning cash
A smaller player in the cloud computing industry for a long time, Oracle has in recent months signed massive data centre deals with OpenAI and Meta Platforms to compete more forcefully with rivals such as Amazon and Microsoft.
However, unlike these tech giants, which fund their substantial outlays through large cash flows, Oracle has had to resort to burning cash and issuing debt. Shares of the company were down about 10% this year.
Read: Oracle is rebuilding its software empire around AI agents
Oracle said earlier this month that it expects net capital expenditure of around $70-billion in its current fiscal year. To fund that, it will raise another $40-billion in debt and equity, including a previously announced $20-billion stock issuance. — Jaspreet Singh, (c) 2026 Reuters