Oracle cuts thousands of jobs as AI investments fail to pay off
Cloud infrastructure giant Oracle is set to cut thousands of jobs—and to date some employees are saying the company has already cut 10,000 positions.
In a post on LinkedIn, Michael Shepherd, a senior operations manager with Oracle, said "senior engineers, architects, operations leaders, program managers and technical specialists" had all been laid off.
Shepherd, for now, is not impacted by the cuts.
In a report, CNBC said it was able to confirm the job eliminations were real, and that the move is linked to multiple factors, including Oracle's sliding stock price and commitments it made with investors to expand the use of artificial intelligence throughout the company.
Oracle’s stock is down nearly 26% year to date, and currently stands at around $145.00 a share. As recently as September 2025, it stood at its all-time high of $345.72 before the long, slow skid began.
Oracle took on a large amount of debt to build out its AI infrastructure—and paying it back has been complicated by limited cash flow. The layoffs may be more of a story about financial needs than technology replacing jobs, given the facts in CNBC’s report.
The layoffs, while being discussed openly on social media, have not all been made official. Oracle has declined requests for comment from multiple media outlets.
The story was originally broken by Business Insider, who obtained internal emails where the company announced to employees that today would be their final day on the job.
“After careful consideration of Oracle's current business needs, we have made the decision to eliminate your role as part of a broader organizational change. As a result, today is your last working day,” the communication reads.
“We are grateful for your dedication, hard work, and the impact you have made during your time with us,” it goes on to say.
Employees were offered a severance package, the details of which were not disclosed. HealthExec was unable to find any specific comments related to termination compensation in employee social media posts.
Chip shortages hinder AI adoption
Despite its struggles, Oracle has been adamant that its AI investment will be profitable in the long term. Earlier this month during an investor call, company CEO Clay Magouyrk blamed chip shortages for many of the company’s hiccups.
“Demand for AI infrastructure, both GPU and CPU, continues to exceed supply,” he said. “This is directly visible in our $553 billion remaining performance obligations.”
Oracle has a massive, specialized presence in the healthcare space, primarily through its subsidiary Oracle Health—the electronic medical record company once called Cerner.
It’s unclear how the healthcare business is impacted by job losses. HealthExec reached out to Oracle Health for additional information.
This is a developing story.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.