- Oracle considers laying off 20,000 to 30,000 employees, about 10% of its workforce
- Layoffs aim to free $8 billion to $10 billion for AI data centre expansion projects
- Oracle explores selling businesses including its healthcare software unit Cerner
Oracle, a US-based multinational, is mulling over laying off around 20,000 to 30,000 employees, which is approximately 10% of its workforce, CIO reported, citing investment bank TD Cowen. The plans of workforce reduction are linked to funding the company's ambitious AI data centre expansion. The move aims to free up $8 billion to $10 billion in cash flow, which the company needs to support its $300 billion partnership with OpenAI and other AI infrastructure projects, TD Cowen said in a research report seen by CIO.
The layoffs are part of Oracle's broader strategy to reduce costs and secure funding for its AI ambitions. The company is also exploring selling some of its businesses, including its healthcare software unit Cerner, acquired in 2022 for $28.3 billion.
Also read | Who Is Beth Galetti, Amazon's HR Chief Who Announced Major Layoffs
The report noted that these measures, which are not official yet, have coincided with several US banks pulling back from Oracle-linked data-centre project lending. "Both equity and debt investors have raised questions regarding Oracle's ability to finance this buildout," the report mentioned, as quoted in the report.
The topic also sparked a buzz, with the word "Oracle" becoming an active trend on Google Trends on February 2. If it happens, the layoffs would have a massive impact globally. Meanwhile, the techies searched the term "Oracle" to get more information amid ongoing layoffs across the IT sector.
See Oracle-related Google Trend here:
Photo Credit: Google Trends
Photo Credit: Google Trends
Also read | Amazon To HP And Nestle, A Look At Recent Layoffs In Major Companies
Oracle plans to raise $45 billion to $50 billion this year
In related news, Oracle expects to raise $45 billion to $50 billion in 2026 to build additional capacity for its cloud infrastructure.
Billionaire Larry Ellison, who co-founded Oracle Corporation, said it plans to achieve its funding objectives using a combination of debt and equity financing.
"Oracle is raising money in order to build additional capacity to meet the contracted demand from our largest Oracle Cloud Infrastructure customers, including AMD, Meta, NVIDIA, OpenAI, TikTok, xAI and others," the company said in a statement.
