Oracle May Cut Up To 30,000 Jobs Amid Funding Strain For AI Data Centres
Oracle May Cut Up To 30,000 Jobs Amid Funding Strain For AI Data Centres
Banks pull back on financing as tech giant explores asset sales and shifts costs to customers
Oracle is reportedly planning one of the largest job cuts in its history, with up to 30,000 roles at risk, as the company grapples with mounting financial pressure linked to its ambitious expansion of AI-focused data centres. The move is being considered as banks scale back lending for the company’s infrastructure buildout, according to recent reports.
The proposed layoffs could affect between 20,000 and 30,000 employees, a step aimed at freeing up cash to support Oracle’s data centre expansion plans. The cuts are expected to generate an estimated $8 billion to $10 billion in free cash flow, easing near-term funding constraints.
At the heart of the issue is Oracle’s aggressive push into AI infrastructure. Investment analysts estimate that the company requires around $156 billion in capital expenditure to meet its planned expansion, including commitments linked to building data centres for major AI clients. However, both equity and debt investors have reportedly raised concerns about Oracle’s ability to finance this scale of expansion, leading several US banks to pull back from lending.
The funding squeeze is also beginning to affect Oracle’s customer relationships. Reports suggest the company had earlier committed to large-scale data centre projects tied to OpenAI, significantly increasing its capital requirements. With traditional financing becoming harder to secure, Oracle is now reassessing how it funds and structures these deals.
Beyond potential layoffs, Oracle is exploring additional measures to shore up its finances. The company is reportedly considering the sale of its healthcare software unit, Cerner, which it acquired in 2022 for $28.3 billion. Divesting the business could help raise capital and reduce pressure on its balance sheet.
Oracle is also said to be shifting part of the infrastructure burden to customers. One such approach involves asking clients to help fund or build portions of the required data centre capacity. Another option under consideration is a “bring your own chip” model, where new customers would supply their own hardware, effectively moving capital costs off Oracle’s books.
Despite these challenges, Oracle continues to project confidence in its long-term cloud ambitions. The company has indicated that it expects to raise between $45 billion and $50 billion in 2026 to add capacity to its cloud infrastructure, suggesting that expansion plans remain intact, albeit under tighter financial discipline.
If implemented, the layoffs would surpass Oracle’s previous major workforce reduction in late 2025, when around 10,000 jobs were cut as part of a restructuring exercise. The developments also come amid a broader trend of tech companies reworking their workforce strategies in response to AI-driven shifts, following recent reports of large job cuts at other global technology firms.
Oracle has not issued an official statement on the reported layoffs so far.
