Oracle slashes 21,000 jobs, citing strategy and AI-led overhaul

Oracle has reported a 13% reduction in its global workforce over the past fiscal year, lowering headcount by approximately 21,000 employees.

According to figures published in its latest annual report, Oracle employed around 141,000 full-time staff as of 31 May 2026. This is compared to about 162,000 at the same point the previous year.

The annual report attributes these job reductions to multiple factors. Oracle cites management changes, product portfolio updates, performance issues, shifts in company strategy, acquisitions, and the expanded use of AI across business functions as reasons for restructuring.

The company said that it continues to adjust its business model in response to changing technology demands and increased adoption of AI.

During the same period, the company’s severance and related restructuring expenses climbed to $1.84bn, up from $374m in the previous fiscal year.

Oracle’s figures reveal that nearly 49,000 staff were employed in the US and approximately 92,000 overseas at the end of the period.

By business function, the headcount comprised 26,000 in cloud and software, 34,000 in services, 25,000 in sales and marketing, and 43,000 in research and development. There were also 2,000 in hardware and 11,000 in general and administrative roles.

The annual filing indicates an average tenure of eight years among employees, with just under a third (31%) working at the company for at least a decade.

Oracle stated: “We believe that helping our employees learn and apply new skills is key to retaining and engaging them. It is also critical to our ability to innovate and rapidly evolve.

“We believe that our easily accessible learning resources enable us to improve our employees’ learning experience and better measure learning consumption.”

The job cuts follow reports earlier in the year of significant redundancies across multiple Oracle business units. Workforce changes were made in conjunction with Oracle’s continuing push towards cloud infrastructure and applications, and away from on-premise solutions.

Financially, Oracle’s cloud business reported substantial gains in the fourth quarter and across fiscal 2026. Quarterly revenue rose 21% to $19.2bn.

Cloud revenues, combining IaaS and SaaS, increased 47% to $9.9bn in the quarter, with cloud infrastructure up 93% and cloud applications up 10%.

Software revenue declined by 2% to $6.8bn as more customers migrated to cloud services. Services revenue for the quarter reached $1.5bn, up 13%, while hardware revenue was $900m, a 9% increase.

For the full year, total revenue reached $67.4bn, a 17% increase from the year before. Cloud revenues totalled $34bn, up 39%.

Full-year software revenue decreased marginally by 1% to $24.5bn. Services revenue climbed to $5.7bn, a 10% rise, and hardware revenue reached $3.1bn, up 5%.

Fourth quarter GAAP operating income rose 20% to $6.1bn. Non-GAAP operating income climbed 22% to $8.6bn. GAAP net income available to ordinary shareholders rose 23% to $4.2bn, while non-GAAP net income reached $6.2bn, up 26%.

GAAP earnings per share for the quarter were $1.45, a 21% increase, and non-GAAP earnings per share reached $2.11, up 24%.

Looking ahead, Oracle forecasts net capital expenditure of about $70bn for the next fiscal year. The company plans to raise $40bn in debt and equity, including a $20bn share issuance already announced.

Guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2027 projects total revenue growth between 27% and 29%. Cloud revenue is expected to increase between 57% and 64%. Non-GAAP earnings per share are projected to be between $1.71 and $1.76.