Oracle fires 30,000 workers globally in 6am emails, 12,000 from India

Oracle laid off up to 30,000 employees worldwide on March 31, 2026, with 12,000 cuts in India, according to affected workers and reports from Indian media.

Employees in India received termination emails around 6am local time from "Oracle Leadership" with no prior warning. The emails stated roles had been eliminated "as part of a broader organizational change" and that March 31 was their last working day.

"No prior intimation, no call from HR, no manager loop-in, just an email," one affected employee told PTI. "After careful consideration of Oracle's current business needs, we have made the decision to eliminate your role," the termination email said, according to copies reviewed by Business Insider. "As a result, today is your last working day."

Company had 162,000 employees in May 2025

Oracle had 162,000 full-time employees as of May 31, 2025. The company has not officially confirmed the total number of layoffs.

India-based employees who lost jobs represented roughly 40% of the global cuts. Oracle's India workforce totalled approximately 30,000 before the layoffs. Two employees interviewed by PTI, including one from the human resources team, said the India job cuts are significant and more reductions are being planned soon.

"The full scale of the cuts remains unclear, but several employees took to LinkedIn on Tuesday to share that they had lost their jobs," Financial Express reported. Several employees said managers were not informed in advance which staff would be terminated.

Restructuring plan reaches $2.1 billion

Oracle disclosed a restructuring plan in its March 2026 10-Q SEC filing. Expected costs: up to $2.1 billion in fiscal year 2026, with most going to employee severance and related expenses.

The company recorded $415 million in restructuring expenses during the first quarter of fiscal 2026, which ended August 31, 2025. An additional $982 million had been recorded in the nine months prior.

"During the first quarter of fiscal 2026, our management approved, committed to and initiated plans to restructure and further improve efficiencies in our operations due to our acquisitions and certain other operational activities," the 10-Q filing said.

AI spending drives cost cuts

Oracle has ramped up capital spending to build AI data centres. Capital expenditures jumped to $8.5 billion in the three months ended August 31, 2025. That's up from $2.3 billion in the same period the prior year.

"The workforce reductions will free up $8-10 billion in annual cash flow," TD Cowen said in a note reviewed by The Next Web.

Oracle stock rose 6.02% on March 31, closing at $147.13, following reports of the layoffs.

Affected workers post to LinkedIn

David Skrzypek, a Senior Principal Applications Engineer based in Detroit, posted to LinkedIn: "After being impacted by layoffs at Oracle, I'm now exploring new opportunities in software engineering."

Vamshi Thaduri, a backend engineer in India, wrote: "Due to the recent layoffs at Oracle, I was impacted and am currently exploring new opportunities. I'm a Backend Engineer with ~3 years of experience focused on building scalable, high-throughput distributed systems using Java and Spring Boot."

Vansh Tyagi, also based in India, posted: "After 3.5 years at Oracle, I was recently impacted by a layoff. I'm now open to new opportunities in telecom software engineering."

Oracle India declined to comment when contacted by Financial Express.

Severance package details unclear

Affected employees were told they would be eligible for a severance package after signing termination paperwork. "Employees will be eligible to receive a severance package after signing their termination paperwork," the layoff email said.

"A second round of job cuts may occur within the next month," two employees told PTI, including one from Oracle's human resources team. Oracle has not confirmed any additional planned layoffs.

The company's fiscal year 2026 runs from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026.