Oracle begins a new round of layoffs

Oracle's co-CEO Clay Magouyrk has initiated another round of layoffs, according to three sources familiar with the matter and a leaked email. The company is cutting costs as it continues to spend heavily on building data centers to support its AI investments. Oracle's workforce shrank by 13% during the fiscal year 2026, which concluded in May, bringing the total number of employees down to around 141,000.

The layoffs were anticipated to commence on Monday, as per a source with knowledge of the situation. Earlier this year, Oracle had already implemented significant cuts, reducing its workforce by 21,000, or 13%, according to a recent filing. The latest round of layoffs follows the earlier cuts, bringing the total workforce reduction to approximately 34,000 employees.

This rapid expansion of Oracle's workforce before 2023 appears to be waning, with the company now focusing on trimming costs to manage its substantial debt accrued from AI-related projects. Despite the ongoing layoffs, Oracle reported $28.5 billion in first-quarter capital expenditures in its latest earnings report, up from $8.5 billion a year prior.

Oracle has projected its fiscal 2027 capital expenditure to range between $90 billion and $95 billion. While Wall Street remains skeptical about the potential return on this investment, the company's cloud segment has shown positive growth.