Oracle layoffs 2026: AI adoption behind 21,000 job cuts globally, up to 12,000 employees in India may be affected

Global technology giant Oracle has revealed that artificial intelligence (AI) adoption contributed to workforce reductions that saw the company cut around 21,000 jobs worldwide over the past year.

According to Oracle's annual financial regulatory filing, the company's global workforce stood at 141,000 full-time employees as of May 31, compared to 162,000 employees a year earlier, reflecting a decline of approximately 21,000 positions.

In the filing, Oracle stated that the adoption and deployment of AI technologies across its operations have resulted in workforce reductions and may continue to impact staffing levels in the future.

“The adoption and deployment of AI technologies across our operations have resulted, and may continue to result, in reductions to our workforce,” the company said.

The workforce reduction led to restructuring costs of approximately $1.8 billion, according to the filing.

Reports suggest that as many as 12,000 employees in India could be affected by the broader workforce restructuring, although Oracle has not provided a country-wise breakdown in its filing.

Despite the job cuts, Oracle continues to invest heavily in AI infrastructure and data centres to meet rising demand from customers, including OpenAI. The company has been expanding its AI capabilities amid growing competition among major cloud service providers.

As of the end of May, Oracle employed around 49,000 workers in the United States and about 92,000 employees internationally.

The company's total headcount has also fallen slightly below levels recorded before its 2022 acquisition of electronic health records firm Cerner.

The latest workforce figures offer insight into the scale of layoffs across Oracle's global operations in recent months.

Earlier this year, reports indicated that Oracle had begun laying off employees worldwide, with affected workers receiving early-morning emails notifying them that their employment had been terminated. Several employees also reported receiving such notifications on social media platforms.

Oracle's disclosure is among the clearest indications yet of how AI adoption is beginning to reshape workforce requirements across the global technology industry.