Yet another round of job cuts looms at Oracle as AI infrastructure spending drives company debt, sources say

Yet another round of job cuts looms for Oracle staff as the company reportedly looks to shrink its workforce to reduce payroll in the coming weeks, amid taking on billions of dollars in debt to fund its AI infrastructure push.

An internal document seen by Business Insider said that cuts could reach double-digit percentages in some teams.

People with direct knowledge of the plans reportedly said the company has asked managers to provide lists of employees who could be affected.

Oracle is said to be targeting Sept 1, when its second quarter begins, to have the payroll reductions in place.

The potential cuts follow thousands of job cuts in April, including some tenured Oracle staff who lamented the company’s lack of “corporate loyalty”.

Oracle’s AI push has come at a steep cost. The company poured US$55.7 billion (S$71.3 billion) into infrastructure, including new data centres, in its 2026 fiscal year. In fact, it spent US$23.7 billion more in cash than it brought in during the year.

To fund its AI infrastructure spending, Oracle raised US$43 billion through debt and another US$5 billion through stock sales. It is also looking to raise about US$40 billion more through a mix of debt and stock in its current fiscal year.

Oracle said the increased demand has driven its need to expand its infrastructure.

In a June filing, Oracle’s global workforce fell by 21,000 between May 2025 and May 2026, due to both attrition and layoffs. Oracle currently has 141,000 employees, according to its website.

Online, some commenters on r/technology joked that continued layoffs would soon leave the company with only one employee. Another criticised the company’s AI push strategy of “repeated layoffs and massive debt” as “not sustainable”.

Meanwhile, a third said, “They will think they solved all their cost issues. But then no one left in the world will be able to afford their product because everyone else was laid off too. This isn’t a winning strategy for anyone. Just short term greed for long term pain.” /TISG

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