Oracle expected to slash thousands of jobs as massive AI spending creates financial cash crisis

Enterprise software giant Oracle is reportedly planning to ax thousands of jobs due to mounting financial pressure from its aggressive push to build AI-focused data centers.

The tech powerhouse may slash 20,000 to 30,000 positions, possibly cutting 12–18% of its global workforce of roughly 162,000 employees, tech magazine CIO reported.

The layoffs could be implemented as early as March 2026, Bloomberg reported.

The move is driven by a cash crunch from massive spending on data centers, which Wall Street expects will keep Oracle’s cash flow negative for years, forcing the company to seek alternative ways to preserve liquidity, Bloomberg said.  

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Additionally, several U.S. banks have scaled back financing for Oracle’s massive AI data center expansion, according to investment bank TD Cowen, cited by CIO.com. Lenders have reportedly voiced growing concerns over the company’s ability to repay debt given the enormous capital required to build infrastructure for high-profile AI clients such as OpenAI.

"Both equity and debt investors have raised questions regarding Oracle’s ability to finance this buildout," the report said.

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The job cuts will span divisions across the company, focusing on roles Oracle expects to need less of due to AI, Bloomberg reported.

The move is also expected to free up $8 billion to $10 billion, TD Cowen said in a research report cited by CIO.

Led by Chairman Larry Ellison, Oracle is making a high-stakes, all-in bet on becoming a top-tier AI cloud provider to rival AWS, Microsoft and Salesforce.  

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The upcoming layoffs at Oracle are expected to be much larger and more extensive than the company’s usual smaller routine job cuts. 

Oracle reportedly told internal teams it would reassess many open positions in its cloud division while evaluating which roles are still necessary. However, planning for the workforce reductions is still ongoing and could change, Bloomberg reported.  

FOX Business reached out to Oracle for more information.