Oracle admits to cutting 21,000 jobs and admits that “the deployment of AI technologies across our operations has resulted, and may continue to result, in a reduction in our workforce.”

Oracle now has around 141,000 employees, up from 162,000 in 12 months
The company spent $1.84 billion on severance and related costs last year.
Billions will be raised through new debt and equity to finance AI projects

Despite recently confirming record revenue of $67.4 billion in its just-ended fiscal year, an increase of 17%, Oracle laid off approximately 21,000 workers during that same 12-month period.

The company confirmed that it had around 141,000 employees in May 2026, but when it released the same report last year, it had around 162,000 employees.

However, despite record revenues and drastic cost-cutting measures, stock prices are down about 15% in a year, largely due to concerns about massive AI-related investments.

Inside Oracle’s massive AI strategy

In a filing, the company noted that the layoffs were influenced by a variety of factors, including management and product changes, performance issues, other strategic changes and business acquisitions. But AI has also had its share of responsibility, directly and indirectly, due to changing business priorities and improved internal efficiencies.

During the year, Oracle spent approximately $1.84 billion on severance, restructuring and other personnel costs, a significant increase from the $374 million spent on restructuring during the previous year.

But that’s nothing compared to the amount the hyperscaler plans to spend on investments this coming year: Most of the planned $70 billion will be allocated to data centers and other cloud infrastructure.

The biggest risk worrying investors, however, may be the source of that financing, as current plans call for raising about $40 billion through new debt and equity rather than operating cash flow. About $20 billion will likely come from issuing shares (per PK Press Club) – the company is currently worth around $503.5 billion.

However, recent high-profile deals with OpenAI and Meta speak volumes about trust in the company from a customer perspective.

All this while producing electricity via more expensive natural gas fuel cells “with minimal emissions,” as the company said in its fourth-quarter release.

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