Oracle reduces staff by 21,000 in latest financial year

Oracle has reduced its global workforce by around 21,000 employees over the past financial year as the tech giant accelerates its shift toward artificial intelligence and restructures its global operations, according to its latest regulatory filing.

The company reported a total headcount of approximately 141,000 employees as of May 31, 2026, down from 162,000 a year earlier.

The decline offers a clearer picture of previously reported layoffs, which had been estimated between 10,000 and 30,000 job cuts following internal notifications sent to affected staff.

Oracle currently employs about 49,000 people in the United States and 92,000 across other regions. However, the filing does not break down how many of the reductions occurred in the US or confirm whether the entire decrease was due to layoffs, instead reflecting an overall workforce contraction.

The company said it continues to implement a restructuring plan and expects further operational changes as artificial intelligence becomes more deeply integrated into its business model.

Oracle also acknowledged that the adoption of AI technologies has contributed to workforce reductions and may result in additional cuts going forward.

The firm has recorded around $1.8 billion in restructuring costs, including severance payments for employees affected by layoffs.

Earlier reports from Bloomberg indicated that Oracle has been trimming its workforce partly to redirect resources toward expanding its AI-driven data centre infrastructure.

The company is building large-scale facilities for clients, including OpenAI, which has partnered with Oracle to develop 4.5 gigawatts of additional data centre capacity in the United States to support advanced AI systems.

Across the broader tech industry, similar trends are emerging as companies balance heavy AI investment with workforce reductions.

Microsoft has cut jobs amid rising infrastructure costs, while Meta has laid off approximately 8,000 employees and reassigned thousands more into AI-focused roles.