In brief
Oracle has announced substantial job cuts affecting senior engineers and technical staff as it shifts focus towards artificial intelligence. The layoffs, estimated to affect around 10,000 employees, are claimed to not be performance-based and come amidst the company’s commitment to invest heavily in AI infrastructure, with plans to allocate over $50 billion this year alone.
Oracle has made significant job cuts, according to reports from senior employees online, as the tech giant focuses on big investments in artificial intelligence (AI).
Michael Shepard, a senior manager at Oracle who was not affected by the lay-offs, shared on LinkedIn that various roles such as senior engineers, architects, operations leaders, program managers, and technical specialists had been eliminated.
The job cuts were not performance-based, Shepard stated, although Oracle has declined to provide an official comment on the matter.
The company is increasingly utilizing AI tools internally, which allows fewer employees to achieve more. Mike Silica, Oracle’s co-chief executive, previously noted that AI coding tools enable smaller engineering teams to deliver solutions to customers more efficiently.
Oracle's shift towards AI-driven operations coincided with a reported reduction in active staff levels on its internal messaging platform, Slack, suggesting that around 10,000 jobs may have been cut.
Shepard emphasized that the layoffs were not indicative of employee performance, clarifying that those impacted were not let go due to any fault of their own. Former Oracle employee Kendall Levin mentioned on LinkedIn that her position was eliminated as part of the downsizing but expressed continued support for the company’s direction.
Oracle is investing heavily into AI infrastructure, committing at least $50 billion for this year and aiming to enhance its capabilities through partnerships with companies like OpenAI as part of the $500 billion Stargate initiative, which seeks to bolster data center capacity in the U.S.
The landscape of tech employment is changing rapidly, with similar layoffs seen in other major companies such as Amazon and Pinterest, indicating a broader trend in the tech industry amidst transformations directed by AI advancements.
