Oracle has drawn up plans for another round of Oracle layoffs this month as it tries to cut payroll while pouring billions into AI infrastructure. Managers have been asked to send in lists of employees who could be affected, and some teams could face double-digit percentage cuts.
The timing matters because Oracle wants the reductions in place by Sept. 1, when the second quarter begins. The company has already reduced its workforce sharply this fiscal year, and the new round would extend that push even as it keeps spending heavily on data centers, chips and other infrastructure needed for AI.
That spending has come with a steep bill. In the 2026 fiscal year that ended May 31, Oracle’s workforce fell by 21,000, or 13%, to around 141,000 employees. Over the same stretch, it spent $55.7 billion on infrastructure, raised $43 billion through debt and another $5 billion from stock sales, and still spent $23.7 billion more in cash than it brought in. Oracle expects to raise about another $40 billion through debt and stock in the current fiscal year.
The contradiction is hard to miss. Oracle says demand is rising, with revenue up 17% and its cloud infrastructure business up 77% in the latest fiscal year, yet it is still trimming jobs to reduce payroll and borrowing heavily to keep the buildout going. Earlier in March, Larry Ellison told analysts that the so-called SaaSpocalypse would be a problem for other companies, not his. The new cuts suggest the pressure from expansion is landing inside Oracle anyway.
Oracle’s stock is down nearly 26% this year, adding another layer of strain as the company tries to balance growth with cost control. The next question is not whether the cuts are coming; it is how deep they will run once managers finish submitting their lists before Sept. 1.
