Oracle is preparing for another round of job cuts as the company tries to reduce its payroll while taking on billions of dollars in debt to fund its expanding artificial intelligence infrastructure, according to Business Insider, which cited people familiar with the plans and an internal document it reviewed.
The potential layoffs would come after Oracle already reduced its workforce significantly during the past fiscal year. The company’s headcount fell by about 21,000 employees, or 13%, in the fiscal year that ended May 31, 2026. Oracle said in a recent regulatory filing that the decline included layoffs.
“The adoption and deployment of AI technologies across our operations have resulted, and may continue to result, in reductions to our workforce,” the company said in its annual filing.
Oracle currently employs about 141,000 people. Business Insider reported that Oracle has asked managers to flag employees who could be impacted by the potential cuts as the company works to bring down its payroll ahead of the second quarter, which begins Sept. 1.
The scale of the potential cuts could vary across teams, with some groups facing reductions that could reach double-digit percentages, the report said. Managers have already been asked to submit names of employees who could be affected.
READ: Pentagon and Oracle sign a 10-year contract worth $7 billion (July 24, 2026)
The latest plans highlight the financial pressure surrounding Oracle’s aggressive push into AI infrastructure. The company is spending heavily on data centers and computing capacity at the same time that it is looking for ways to control costs.
Oracle invested $55.7 billion in infrastructure during fiscal 2026, including spending on new data centers. That investment contributed to a cash outflow of $23.7 billion beyond the cash the company generated during the year.
The company also recorded $1.84 billion in severance and other restructuring-related costs during fiscal 2026, up sharply from $374 million a year earlier, according to its regulatory filing. Oracle has said its workforce changes have been influenced by several factors, including management and product changes, performance issues, strategic realignments and acquisitions.
Oracle has continued to increase its spending ambitions. Earlier this month, the company said it expects net capital expenditures to reach about $70 billion during the current fiscal year. To fund its AI expansion, Oracle plans to secure another $40 billion through a mix of debt and equity, on top of the $20 billion stock offering it has already announced.
For employees, the timing of the latest plans is particularly significant. The September deadline is only weeks away, raising the possibility of another rapid round of notifications. Oracle employees who experienced the previous cuts on March 31 may be watching closely for any signs of a similar process, including late-night or early-morning communications from company leadership. Whether the next round comes through an HR call or an email remains unclear.
READ: Oracle stock tumbles despite beating financial expectations (June 11, 2026)
The potential layoffs also come at a complicated moment for Oracle. The company is not showing the signs of a business in immediate financial distress. Revenue increased 17% in the last fiscal year, while its cloud infrastructure business grew 77%. Oracle also reported a 95% jump in net income to $6.13 billion in a recent quarter.
CEO Clay Magouyrk has pointed to Oracle’s $553 billion in remaining performance obligations as evidence of strong demand for AI computing capacity. The figure represents contracted business that the company expects to recognize as revenue in the future.
Investors, however, remain concerned about the cost of Oracle’s AI expansion and the debt needed to support it. Oracle shares have fallen about 26% this year as concerns over its rising debt have combined with a broader selloff in software stocks. There are also growing questions across the technology industry about whether advances in AI could eventually put pressure on traditional enterprise software businesses.
For Oracle, the challenge is becoming increasingly clear: the company is betting heavily on the AI infrastructure boom, but that bet is also forcing it to find savings elsewhere. For employees, another round of cost-cutting could be the most immediate consequence.