The layoffs come amid a push by the organisation to further increase AI investment and adoption.

According to a report by CNBC, software maker Oracle has begun informing employees about mass layoffs, which are said to be eliminating thousands of jobs. Employees started receiving notifications on Tuesday (31 March) and while the cuts will have a global impact, the final figures are not yet known.

CNBC confirmed the cuts via conversation with two people familiar with the subject, who also requested that they remain unnamed as the announcement has not been made public as of yet. 

In an email shared by The Business Insider, employees were reportedly told: “After careful consideration of Oracle’s current business needs, we have made the decision to eliminate your role as part of a broader organisational change. As a result, today is your last working day.”

First reported by Bloomberg in early March, it is believed that Oracle is cutting some of the jobs to funnel funds into its major AI data centre expansion efforts. Reportedly, while Oracle is struggling to remain competitive in the GenAI space, the organisation is also believed to be facing pressure from investors concerned about the amount of money being allocated to AI innovation.  

Commenting on the news, Forrester’s vice-president and principal analyst JP Gownder said: “It’s crucial to distinguish between laying off staff in order to make investments elsewhere, something that has been done since the dawn of capitalism and AI replacing jobs directly.

“If an organisation cuts labour costs in order to build a factory (or, in this case, an AI data centre), that company is making a bet on its ability to deliver future revenue and profits. But, too often, when technology companies lay off employees to invest in AI infrastructure, we conflate that with the idea that ‘AI replaced employees’.

“With Oracle, there are financial pressures to lay off staff: The company’s stock has fallen by more than 50pc since Q3 2025. The company is also making a play for future AI-related services revenues. But it would be AI-washing to imply that the Oracle layoff means that AI replaced employees directly because AI isn’t performing their work.”

Oracle is not the first well-known company to announce layoffs and restructuring amid a commitment to AI implementation. In late March, Meta began laying off several hundred of its global employees, reportedly in order to redirect its priorities towards AI.

Also in March, collaboration software provider Atlassian said it would be cutting roughly 1,600 roles, around 10pc of its workforce, in order to “self-fund further investment in AI and enterprise sales, while strengthening [the] financial profile”. 

Atlassian’s CEO and co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes explained that, while it is not the plan to replace individuals with machinery, “it would be disingenuous to pretend AI doesn’t change the mix of skills” needed or “the number of roles required in certain areas”.

Meanwhile, Amazon and Block have also recently made significant layoffs in tandem with plans to spend more on AI.

SiliconRepublic.com has reached out to Oracle for comment, but has not received a reply.

Updated, 3.21pm, 1 April 2026: This article was amended to include a quote from Forrester’s vice-president and principal analyst JP Gownder.

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