Oracle Layoffs May Grow As AI Data Centre Costs Push Restructuring Bill To $2.8 Billion

Oracle is preparing for more job cuts as it tries to control costs while spending heavily on artificial intelligence infrastructure and data centres, putting employees in major Indian hubs including Hyderabad under renewed scrutiny.

Oracle has increased its estimated 2026 restructuring cost by $700 million to about $2.8 billion. It has already recognised around $2.1 billion, with the additional amount expected to cover severance, contract termination and other exit costs. The disclosure is the clearest official indication yet that further workforce reductions are planned.

Oracle's global workforce was about 141,000 at the end of May, roughly 21,000 lower than a year earlier. In India, reports on the earlier restructuring varied sharply, with sources estimating about 10,000 to 12,000 jobs affected, while another report citing company sources put the figure closer to 2,500 to 3,000. Oracle has not publicly confirmed an India total.

Hyderabad is among Oracle's major Indian technology centres, alongside Bengaluru and Pune, making it an important location to watch. However, there is currently no verified public figure for Hyderabad specific layoffs. A separate development shows the impact on the city's technology talent pipeline: Oracle reportedly withdrew five of 23 final and internship offers at IIT Hyderabad following the earlier restructuring.

The fresh restructuring comes as Oracle faces enormous AI infrastructure costs. It spent $28.5 billion on capital expenditure in its latest quarter and expects fiscal 2027 capital spending of about $90 billion to $95 billion. Its cloud infrastructure revenue jumped 121%, while new AI cloud contracts exceeded $30 billion and remaining performance obligations reached $664 billion. Yet free cash flow was negative $5.4 billion.

Reports had earlier pointed to September 1 for another layoff wave after managers were asked to identify positions for elimination. That date passed without a publicly announced mass exercise. September 14 and 15 are now being discussed as possible dates, but Oracle has not confirmed either. Reports have suggested thousands of Indian employees could be affected, but the number remains uncertain.