Oracle layoffs: Long-serving employees along with strong performance ratings are also among those affected; India layoffs may follow

Oracle has begun another round of job cuts, with affected employees in the US reportedly discovering on September 14 that their positions had been eliminated. The process appeared similar to the company's previous layoffs in March, with employees losing access to workplace systems before receiving formal notifications.

According to three affected employees and a copy of an internal notification seen by Business Insider, some workers first noticed their federated logins stop working at around 4am Eastern Time. Slack access was then disrupted for employees in a rolling wave, while some also reported that their office badges stopped working.

By around 6am local time, affected employees received an email from "Oracle Leadership" informing them of the decision.

Oracle Employees Receive Layoff Notices

The email carried the line employees had reportedly been anticipating since August: "We are sharing some difficult news regarding your position."

The notification stated that the employee's role had been eliminated as part of a broader organisational change, with the same day marked as their final working day.

The latest round had reportedly been expected since mid-August, when managers were asked to identify positions that could be eliminated. Oracle has not publicly commented on the reported layoffs.

Multiple Oracle Teams Reportedly Affected

Employees discussing the cuts on Reddit's r/employeesOfOracle forum reported job losses across several parts of the company. The discussion reportedly received hundreds of comments within hours, with workers mentioning teams including OCI security, enterprise engineering, observability, Fusion, NetSuite sales, Customer Success Services, Oracle Health, EPM and HR Technology. Some employees also reported cuts at Oracle's Stargate site in Abilene, Texas.

One recurring concern among employees was that the layoffs did not appear to be limited to workers with poor performance records. Workers with several years of service and positive performance ratings also said they had been affected.

An IC4 employee in HR Technology reportedly said they had received several strong performance ratings before being laid off, while a four-year OCI employee said they had never received a rating below "meets expectations". A QA engineer with 24 years of service also reported receiving a termination notification.

Severance Details Remain Unclear

Some affected employees reportedly lost access to company email and VPN services before receiving detailed severance information. This left workers waiting for further communication through their personal email addresses.

One employee in the database organisation with four years of service reportedly said they were offered seven weeks of severance.

The reported US layoffs appeared to take place over several hours on September 14.

India, EMEA Layoffs Expected To Follow

Employees expect the restructuring to extend to other regions, following a pattern similar to Oracle's previous round of layoffs.

India is expected to be among the next regions affected, with employees anticipating job cuts across the India Development Centre and customer support operations. These figures have not been officially confirmed by Oracle.

Oracle Raises Restructuring Costs Amid AI Push

The reported layoffs come as Oracle continues to invest heavily in artificial intelligence and data-centre infrastructure. In a filing on Friday, Oracle said restructuring costs were expected to increase by around $700 million, bringing the projected cost of its fiscal 2026 restructuring plan to approximately $2.8 billion. The company has also linked part of its restructuring efforts to the adoption of AI across certain functions.

Oracle reported capital expenditure of $28.5 billion in the first quarter, compared with $8.5 billion a year earlier. The company has maintained its fiscal 2027 capital expenditure forecast at between $90 billion and $95 billion.

Oracle's workforce had already declined by about 21,000 employees during the fiscal year ended May 31, leaving the company with roughly 141,000 employees before the latest cuts.

Despite the restructuring, Oracle's revenue backlog increased by $26 billion to $664 billion, a figure the company has highlighted while defending its significant investment in infrastructure and AI.

Employees Had Been Speculating About Layoff Dates

Rumours about another round of layoffs had circulated among Oracle employees for weeks. Workers on Reddit had speculated about several possible dates in September, including September 1, 15 and 30. None of those dates had been officially announced.

For many affected employees, however, the uncertainty ended early on September 14, when access to company systems began disappearing before the formal layoff notification arrived.

Read the layoff email employees recieved from Oracle leadership:

We are sharing some difficult news regarding your position.

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.

We are grateful for your dedication, hard work, and the impact you have made during your time with us.

After signing your termination paperwork, you will be eligible to receive a severance package subject to the terms and conditions of the severance plan. You will receive an email from DocuSign to your Oracle email address with details on your severance and termination date.

Immediate Action Required

To receive important follow-up information, including FAQs and separation documents to help you through this transition, you must provide a personal email address.

Please click here to submit a personal email address immediately. If you make a submission error, please re-submit a new form. Please Note: The personal email address will only be used for correspondence regarding separation-related information and severance agreements.

Access to your computer, email, voicemail, and files will be deactivated soon, and you will be unable to log into your computer. As a reminder, you are prohibited from downloading, copying or retaining (including emailing yourself any Oracle confidential information.

Thank you for your contributions to our organization. If you have additional questions, please reach out to the HR team via the Ask HR page…

Oracle Leadership.

[With TOI inputs]