AUSTIN, Texas, March 31, 2026, 13:09 CDT
Oracle began laying off thousands of workers on Tuesday, with internal emails telling some employees the day was their last at the company, as the software maker tried to trim costs while pushing deeper into artificial-intelligence infrastructure. CNBC, citing two people familiar with the move, reported the cuts would affect thousands. Oracle declined to comment. 1
The move matters now because Oracle is funding one of the sector’s biggest AI buildouts. Earlier this month it kept a fiscal 2026 spending target of $50 billion for data centers and related equipment and said remaining performance obligations — contracted revenue yet to be recognized — had jumped 325% to $553 billion, as it tried to close ground on Amazon and Microsoft in cloud infrastructure. 2
In February, Oracle said it expected to raise $45 billion to $50 billion in 2026 to expand cloud capacity for customers including OpenAI, Meta, Nvidia and xAI. By March 10, it reported it had already raised $30 billion through bonds and mandatory convertible preferred stock, while leaving its $50 billion spending plan unchanged. 3
That push has hit cash generation. Oracle’s trailing four-quarter free cash flow — the cash left after operating and capital spending — was negative $24.7 billion at the end of February, and a March filing showed its fiscal 2026 restructuring plan could cost as much as $2.1 billion, mainly for severance and related expenses. 2
Business Insider reported that some employees received notices early Tuesday saying their roles were being eliminated “as part of a broader organizational change” and that the day of the email was their last working day. The message told workers to provide a personal address to receive severance papers and other separation documents. 4
Shares rose as investors wagered the cuts could ease some pressure. Oracle stock was up 4.7% at $145.28 in midday U.S. trading on Tuesday, though the shares remained down about 29% for the year. 1
On the March 10 earnings call, Executive Chairman Larry Ellison said Oracle was using AI coding tools to build new industry software with smaller teams and argued the feared “SaaS apocalypse” — a hit to demand for subscription software — applied to others, not Oracle. Co-CEO Clay Magouyrk said cloud margins should improve as higher-margin database services sit on top of renting out AI chips. Jacob Bourne, an analyst at eMarketer, called that quarter a “stress test result” for the AI trade. 5
But the risks are still there. Matt Britzman of Hargreaves Lansdown said the debate over Oracle’s financing was “not going away anytime soon,” while Morgan Stanley analysts wrote that investors still wanted proof that the business of renting graphics chips and related cloud capacity would add to earnings and free cash flow. 6
The cuts also fit a wider pattern across tech. More than 70 technology companies have cut about 40,480 jobs so far in 2026, and Meta laid off a few hundred employees last week as companies kept redirecting money toward AI. 1
Oracle has not disclosed how many roles are being cut or which countries will be hit hardest. The company had about 162,000 full-time employees as of May 2025, and the scope of Tuesday’s reductions remained unclear. 1
