After the massive layoff, Oracle’s severance policy for India is now in question

For the 12,000 former Oracle employees in India, the shock of the email firing is now met with uncertainty over their severance packages.

Reports suggest that the full package appears to be contingent upon employees opting for a “voluntary and amicable” resignation.

Those who do not agree to the terms may receive a different or potentially reduced compensation structure.

Oracle has not officially disclosed the details of its severance policy for India, but some Reddit users are saying they will receive approximately three months and 15 days of salary.

Compensation may also be tenure-based and calculated on unused leave encashments, meaning the exact figure may vary depending on roles, seniority and business unit.

According to NDTV, one Reddit user, posting under the username u/Lavishness897, claimed to have received a specific structure as part of Oracle’s India Development Centre (IDC) in Bengaluru.

The user noted that the ex gratia component itself included an additional 15 days’ salary per year of service on top of the standard calculation.

“It is 15 days per year + annual leave + (ex gratia – additional 15 days per year + 2 months) + 1 month garden leave or in lieu salary + 20k for insurance,” the user wrote.

Oracle has laid off around 12,000 employees in India as part of a broader global workforce reduction (30,000 total).

The impact of the layoff was brutal, affecting multiple divisions, including engineering and cloud infrastructure.

Access to internal systems was revoked abruptly, with terminations executed remotely. There was no time for transition or closure, some employees said.

Besides the severance packages, the tax implications that follow are also cause for concern for the former Oracle employees.

Moneycontrol.com says in India, a severance package linked to termination of employment is treated as “profits in lieu of salary.”

They are taxed as part of the employee’s salary income for the relevant financial year. Oracle’s layoffs are not classified as a Voluntary Retirement Scheme, and therefore, there are no exemptions available.