Oracle cuts 546 jobs in cloud unit as spending on AI grows

Oracle has let go of 546 workers in its America Cloud Infrastructure unit. The cuts affect about 7.6 percent of the 7,185 employees listed in a document seen by Business Insider, though Oracle has not shared the total number of people laid off. The layoffs happen while the business grows quickly, reporting $7.4 billion in Cloud Infrastructure revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, up 121 percent from a year ago. Software developers, program managers, infrastructure engineers, and data-centre support staff are among those affected. Software Developer III is the single role with the most cuts at 57 positions, while developers overall make up about 17 percent of the total. Management roles also face heavy cuts, with 128 positions containing the word manager, including 61 program manager jobs. The data-centre support division lost 41 employees, including its vice president and two senior directors. A majority of the laid-off workers are over 40, and about 16 percent are 60 or older. Oracle stated this information was given to follow federal age-discrimination laws, but the age split does not prove age was a factor in the cuts. The layoffs come as Oracle increases its capital spending to build capacity for cloud and AI services. Capital spending reached $28.5 billion for the quarter ending August 31, compared to $8.5 billion a year earlier, with the company keeping its fiscal 2027 capital expenditure forecast at $90 billion to $95 billion. New Oracle Chief Financial Officer Hilary Maxson and co-CEO Mike Sicilia addressed employees at a town hall meeting, focusing on growth and customer demand rather than the layoffs. Maxson told staff the company wants to simplify processes that do not help customers, while Sicilia asked workers to focus on delivering better customer outcomes. The US job cuts are relevant to India because Oracle has a large workforce in the country across product engineering, development, and support, though Oracle has not revealed if Indian employees are affected. Indian families have shared layoff accounts on social media, including Pooja Sahu, whose husband Sourabh lost his job after 12 years at the company.