Oracle closed its 2026 fiscal year with a 13% cut to its workforce, equal to roughly 21,000 jobs. As of May 31, 2026, the US group employed 141,000 full-time workers, down from about 162,000 a year earlier.

It is the first time in four years that headcount has fallen below 150,000, according to the company’s annual report, released on Monday, June 22. Behind the cuts is the reorganization through which the software giant is rebuilding its operations around artificial intelligence.

Oracle’s headcount falls below 150,000 for the first time in four years

In the filing, the company is explicit about the role AI played in shrinking its workforce: «The adoption of AI technologies in our operations has resulted in, and may continue to result in, reductions in our workforce», the document reads. Oracle adds that management and product decisions, along with strategic repositioning and several acquisitions, also affected headcount. As early as April, some senior employees had flagged substantial staff cuts online, but the full scale stayed unknown until the report was filed.

On the cost side, the restructuring generated charges of roughly $1.8 billion in severance and other items during fiscal 2026, far above the $374 million recorded the previous fiscal year. Oracle itself warned that the process «may prove disruptive» and that the reorganization risks creating shortages of skilled staff in some functions, with possible drops in productivity that could weigh on financial results. Asked about the layoffs, the company defended its choices:

«As our cloud and AI business grows, we will continuously balance resources and reorganize our development group to make sure we have the right people to deliver the best cloud and AI products to customers around the world.»

The wave of layoffs across the tech sector

The Oracle case fits a broader trend running through the technology sector. Over the past year, more than 100,000 workers in the industry have lost their jobs, according to estimates from firms that track the labor market.

Since the start of 2026 alone, 196 companies have announced the departure of more than 119,800 employees, according to Layoffs.fyi. Among the biggest movers are Amazon and Meta, which have cut thousands of positions while investing heavily in infrastructure for artificial intelligence. The company founded by Jeff Bezos, in particular, has announced roughly 30,000 cuts spread across several rounds and expects to spend $200 billion on AI on its own, the highest in the sector. All told, Big Tech is aiming to invest nearly $650 billion in technology over the course of 2026.

The race for the cloud and the bet on heavy investment

For years a marginal player in cloud computing, Oracle has in recent months signed major deals to build data centers for the big names in AI, including OpenAI and Meta, in a bid to challenge rivals such as Microsoft.

A large share of its order book is tied to OpenAI: by some estimates, more than half of the so-called «backlog» depends on the group led by Sam Altman alone, a concentration that links Oracle’s fortunes to its largest customers’ ability to honor their commitments. Driving the bet is Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people and now the group’s Chief Technology Officer, intent on carving out a leading role for the company in large-scale AI applications. To fund the expansion, Oracle expects net capital expenditure (capex) of around $70 billion in the current fiscal year and will raise another $40 billion in debt and equity, including a $20 billion stock issuance already announced.

The market remains cautious. The stock currently trades around $175 and has shed roughly 10% since the start of the year, though it still holds gains of more than 55% over three years and 138% over five. What weighs most on investors’ judgment is financial strength, with an order backlog that now exceeds the company’s own market capitalization and shifts the debate from pure growth to the ability to turn commitments into cash flow, against a backdrop of burned liquidity and reliance on borrowing.

Editor’s note

This article was originally published in Italian on money.it by P. F. on June 23, 2026 as «Per la prima volta in quattro anni i dipendenti Oracle sono meno di 150.000. Tagliati 21.000 posti (13%)». It has been translated and adapted for an international audience by the Money.it International desk.