What happened
Oracle laid off an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 employees on 31 March, roughly 18% of its 162,000-person global workforce. Termination notices arrived via a single email from “Oracle Leadership” at 6am. Affected staff were immediately locked out of internal systems with no prior warning from managers.
An estimated 10,000 to 12,000 cuts occurred in India alone, approximately 20% of Oracle’s local workforce.
Why it matters: This is the largest tech layoff of 2026. Oracle’s stock rose nearly 6% on the day, signalling that investors view cost-cutting as positive. The company is redirecting savings toward AI infrastructure.
The numbers
According to TD Cowen, the workforce reduction could free up $8 to $10 billion in incremental free cash flow. Oracle plans to redirect that toward $50 billion in AI data centre capital expenditure in fiscal year 2026.
Barclays maintained its “overweight” rating, noting Oracle generates less profit per employee than competitors. The stock remains down roughly 25% year-to-date despite the post-layoff bounce.
The H-1B controversy
Oracle filed over 3,100 H-1B visa petitions in fiscal years 2025 and 2026 while cutting thousands of workers. Critics accused the company of replacing domestic staff with cheaper foreign labour. Amazon faced similar scrutiny after cutting 16,000 jobs while filing approximately 2,675 H-1B petitions.
What happens next
Oracle will redirect billions annually toward AI data centres and cloud expansion for clients including Nvidia, Meta, OpenAI, and xAI. Remaining employees have reportedly been told to absorb extra workload, though some are refusing additional hours.