A hot potato: As tech executives' narrative around AI-related job losses becomes one of "things aren't that bad" and even "what job losses?" Oracle has reduced its workforce by 21,000 people this fiscal year while acknowledging that AI played a big role in the cuts.

The eliminations led to $1.8 billion in severance payments and other restructuring costs for Oracle, significantly higher than the $374 million restructuring costs it faced in the previous financial year. The software and cloud computing giant employed 141,000 people as of May 31, 2026, compared to 162,000 one year earlier, representing a 13% decline.

There are several factors behind the cuts, according to Oracle's SEC filing. These include management and product changes, performance issues, strategic shifts, and acquisitions.

A shortage of cash is also playing a part – Oracle's capital expenditures came to $55.7 billion in fiscal 2026 as it builds data center capacity. But there are no prizes for guessing one of the major driving forces.

According to Oracle's SEC filing, "the adoption and deployment of AI technologies across our operations have resulted, and may continue to result, in reductions to our workforce."

According to Layoffs.fyi, 121,462 tech employees have been laid off at 197 companies in 2026 so far. That's just 3,000 short of the entire number of cuts during the whole of 2025.

The list of companies making layoffs as a direct or indirect result of AI keeps growing: Block, Cisco, Intuit, Snap, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Dell, Google, HP, and IBM, to name just a few.

What's surprising is the sudden change in position from many tech executives and analysts. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently said he was "delighted" his AI jobs apocalypse prediction hasn't come true, which might say more about his definition of an apocalypse than the state of the job market. Even Anthropic boss Dario Amodei, who once said AI could erase half of all entry-level white-collar jobs, has softened his stance.

Possibly the most surprising revelation came from top Apollo economist Torsten Sløk, who said there was "zero evidence" of job losses because of AI, despite there being an awful lot of evidence to the contrary – including, most recently, Oracle's SEC filing.

There is a potential bright spot, though. With multiple reports showing AI investment isn't resulting in the sort of returns or cost-cutting (if any) that were expected, a recent study found that around a third of companies that attempted to replace workers with AI have either rehired some of them or expressed regret over the decision. They'll likely regret it even more if – or when – the AI bubble bursts.