Oracle’s Historic 30,000 Job Cuts to Propel AI Stargate Venture
Oracle Corporation, in a historic move, has executed the largest workforce reduction in its 49-year history. The company has terminated approximately 30,000 employees, which is roughly 18% of its 190,000-person global headcount. This sweeping restructuring is designed to redirect billions of dollars towards AI infrastructure as part of the ambitious Stargate joint venture with OpenAI and SoftBank.
The divisions hit hardest by these cuts include Oracle Health (formerly Cerner), Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), and ERP consulting. These cuts are projected to free up $8 to $10 billion in annual cash flow, according to analyst estimates from TD Cowen. Oracle has committed to approximately $50 billion in capital expenditure for fiscal year 2026 — a 3.5x increase from FY24 — directed almost entirely at AI data center construction.
Co-CEO Safra Catz described the move as “a generational reallocation of capital from people-intensive consulting and legacy support toward GPU-intensive AI infrastructure.” Oracle is a primary partner in Stargate, the joint venture targeting approximately 10 gigawatts of AI compute capacity. An Abilene, Texas campus for OpenAI is already partially operational.
Despite the sweeping job losses, Oracle’s financial metrics remain strong. Cloud Infrastructure (IaaS) revenue hit $4.9 billion in Q3, up 84% year-over-year, with a remaining performance obligations backlog ballooning 325% to $553 billion. The restructuring eclipses layoffs at Meta (8,000) and Microsoft (9,000) in the current AI spending supercycle.
Source: Forbes – Oracle Lays Off 30,000 As AI Spending Surges (April 6, 2026)