TLDR
- Oracle has started a new round of layoffs, with affected employees told Monday was their last working day.
- Some teams faced double-digit percentage cuts; Oracle’s headcount already fell by 21,000 (13%) in fiscal year 2026.
- The company had around 141,000 employees before this latest round began.
- Oracle is carrying tens of billions in debt to fund AI data center expansion, with $28.5 billion in Q1 capex alone.
- Larry Ellison recently scrapped a trading plan that would have let him sell up to 50 million ORCL stock, worth around $7.5 billion, though no stock was sold.
Oracle has kicked off another round of layoffs, with employees receiving notification emails on Monday telling them their roles had been eliminated as part of a “broader organizational change.”
$ORCL STARTS ANOTHER ROUND OF LAYOFFS
Oracle is cutting jobs again as it spends heavily to build out AI data centers, per Business Insider
The company already reduced its workforce by 21,000 employees, or 13%, last fiscal year
Oracle now expects $90B to $95B in capex this year pic.twitter.com/FoQbgcC4C7
— WOLF (@WOLF_Financial) September 14, 2026
The email, seen by Business Insider, told affected staff that Monday was their last working day. Workers were offered four weeks of base salary plus one week per year of service as severance.
Posts from people claiming to have been laid off began appearing on LinkedIn, Reddit, and Blind on Monday.
Business Insider had reported last month that Oracle was drawing up plans for fresh cuts. Internal documents showed some teams were looking at double-digit percentage reductions.
This latest round comes on top of cuts already made this year. Oracle’s total workforce dropped by 21,000 employees, or 13%, in the fiscal year ending May 31, 2026. The company had around 141,000 employees going into this current round.
ORCL stock fell 3.65% on the news.
The AI Bet Driving the Cuts
The layoffs are directly tied to Oracle’s aggressive push into AI infrastructure. The company reported $28.5 billion in capital expenditures in its first quarter, up from $8.5 billion the same period a year earlier.
Oracle has maintained its fiscal 2027 capex forecast at $90 billion to $95 billion. That level of spending has required the company to take on tens of billions in debt.
With costs rising fast, cutting payroll has become one way management is trying to manage the balance sheet while keeping the AI buildout on track.
Oracle’s most recent earnings did include some positives, with cloud growth among the bright spots, but Wall Street has not fully bought into the long-term payoff from the debt-heavy strategy.
Ellison Scraps Stock Sale Plan
A separate development caught investor attention this week. Larry Ellison recently abandoned a pre-arranged trading plan that would have allowed him to sell up to 50 million ORCL stock, valued at roughly $7.5 billion.
No stock was sold under the plan before it was pulled. The reasons for cancelling the plan have not been disclosed.
Oracle has not publicly commented on the latest layoffs. An Oracle spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
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