Oracle has reduced its workforce to balance an aggressive AI infrastructure push with rising costs and debt.
- Unverified internal communication suggests the program could offer eligible U.S. employees six weeks of severance.
- Oracle’s workforce fell by about 21,000 employees, or 13%, during fiscal 2026.
- The retail sentiment for ORCL dipped over the past week and was ‘bearish’ as of early Tuesday.
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) may be widening a voluntary separation program for some U.S. employees, according to screenshots of an email to managers circulating on X and Reddit that the company has not confirmed.
Shares of the company were up nearly 0.3% in overnight trading heading into Tuesday.
The screenshots, which appear to be internal Oracle communication, say the VSP is available to an “additional eligible population” effective Oct. 1. It describes the program as an alternative to a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) for eligible U.S. employees who have completed documented coaching but have not met performance expectations.
Eligible employees may voluntarily participate with required approvals and receive six weeks of severance or the applicable severance formula, whichever is greater, according to the screenshots.
The screenshot of the purported email first surfaced on X from Amanda Goodall, a workforce intelligence strategist and corporate adviser who has provided labor market commentary featured on networks like Fox Business and Yahoo Finance.
“Still unconfirmed, but signs are pointing to another round of layoffs in December as Oracle continues its shift toward becoming a data center company. The voluntary packages may only be the opening move. If the rumors are right, looks like December is when more cuts begin,” she said.
Oracle has not publicly confirmed the program, and the screenshot and social-media posts could not be independently verified. The company did not immediately respond to Stocktwits’ request for comment.
Big Tech has also pursued significant workforce reductions in 2026, with Amazon.com (AMZN), Dell Technologies (DELL), Meta Platforms (META), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and PayPal (PYPL) among the companies reporting significant job cuts this year.
The broader tech sector has seen more than 130,700 layoffs across 312 companies in 2026, according to Layoffs.fyi.
Oracle Has Already Cut Thousands Of Jobs
The speculation follows Oracle’s major workforce reduction over the past year.
The company’s workforce fell by about 21,000 employees, or 13%, to 141,000 in its fiscal year, which ended in May, according to its annual report. Oracle also carried out another round of layoffs in September, although the exact extent of those cuts is unclear.
Oracle spent about $1.84 billion on restructuring, severance and other exit costs in FY2026. In September, the company increased the expected cost of its restructuring plan by another $700 million, taking the projected total to roughly $2.8 billion.
AI Expansion Comes With A Massive Bill
The cuts are unfolding as Oracle aggressively expands its cloud infrastructure to capitalize on surging AI demand.
Oracle spent $55.7 billion on capital expenditures in FY2026, while first-quarter fiscal 2027 capex alone reached $28.5 billion. The company has continued to invest heavily in data centers even as its remaining performance obligations, a measure of contracted future revenue, surged to $664 billion.
That expansion has also increased Oracle’s financing needs. The company issued $43 billion of senior notes during fiscal 2026, while its latest filing showed $117.7 billion in non-current notes payable and other borrowings as of Aug. 31, along with $7.6 billion in current borrowings.
Retail View On ORCL
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for ORCL dipped over the past week and was ‘bearish’ as of early Tuesday.
“$ORCL I think it will eventually reach the 300 range again. Look at META. S*** went from low 500 to now 700 plus. Once the fomo starts this old. Donkey will run,” said a trader.
ORCL stock got a boost last week amid reports that Chinese tech giant Tencent has signed a $7 billion deal to lease the company’s data centers in Southeast Asia.
The stock, however, remains 26.2% down year to date.
For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<