Oracle preparing to lay off 10,000 employees:Decision due to rising AI and cloud expenses; announcement likely on September 15

Tech company Oracle plans to lay off about 10,000 employees worldwide, which may also affect many employees in India. The company is taking this step to balance the increasing expenditure on cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and to reduce its costs. Departments asked for reports to cut costs Oracle management has asked its various teams to find ways to cut their expenses. Due to this decision, the impact of the layoffs may affect several departments of the company rather than being limited to one specific business area. According to internal discussions within the company, it is estimated that between 7,000 to 10,000 employees could be affected globally by these layoffs. However, an official confirmation of these figures from Oracle is yet to be made. Announcement likely on September 15 Discussions about a layoff process starting among company employees in September are in full swing. While it was initially expected to be announced on September 1st, September 15th is now being considered the second potential date when the company may begin announcing its layoff decisions. Currently, there remains uncertainty regarding the exact date of the layoffs and the final number of affected employees. Even many managers are not yet fully aware of which roles will be eliminated. Significant impact on the Indian workforce This potential layoff decision is considered extremely significant for Oracle’s Indian workforce. India is a large and important hub for Oracle’s global operations. Major teams in engineering, cloud services, technology, and support work here. As such, a large portion of the global cuts could impact Indian employees. 21,000 employees laid off in 1 year Oracle has already made significant cuts to its workforce over the past year. By the end of May 2024, Oracle had approximately 141,000 total full-time employees, compared to about 162,000 a year earlier. This means the company has reduced its headcount by approximately 21,000 employees in the last 12 months alone. The company has clarified in its annual report that this workforce reduction is due to the increased use of AI technology in operations and may continue in the future. Heavy investment in AI infrastructure is a major reason These layoffs are happening at a time when Oracle is investing heavily in the infrastructure required for the AI boom. To meet the growing demand from AI companies, Oracle is continuously expanding its data center capacity and cloud business. The company faces the challenge of balancing the expansion of its computing infrastructure to remain competitive in the AI market while simultaneously controlling costs in other parts of its business. $1.8 billion spent on restructuring According to the company’s annual report, Oracle has spent approximately $1.8 billion on restructuring and severance pay. Along with this, the company has warned its investors that organizational changes could impact operations and may also lead to a shortage of skilled positions. Quarterly results to be released on September 11 Oracle has not yet made any official comment on the news of these new layoffs. The company’s next quarterly results are due on September 11. If these layoffs proceed, they will be part of Oracle’s efforts to reshape its business around cloud and AI.