The US tech major Oracle is planning to cut between 20,000 and 30,000 jobs as it grapples with mounting financial pressure from its ambitious AI data centre expansion, a new report has said.
According to a CIO report citing research by investment bank TD Cowen, the layoffs aim to free up between $8-10 billion in cash flow. The cuts would mark Oracle’s largest round of layoffs in recent history, following the elimination of around 10,000 jobs in late 2025 under a $1.6 billion restructuring plan.
Oracle has not yet issued an official statement on the reported job cuts.
TD Cowen flagged growing concerns among equity and debt investors over Oracle’s ability to finance its AI infrastructure push. Several US banks have reportedly pulled back from lending to the company in recent weeks, tightening access to capital.
The strain has already affected Oracle’s expansion plans. TD Cowen estimates the company requires around $156 billion in capital expenditure to scale its AI data centre capacity, including projects tied to OpenAI. Some data centre leases under negotiation with private operators failed to secure financing, preventing Oracle from locking in capacity through leases, the report said.
“Both equity and debt investors have raised questions regarding Oracle’s ability to finance this buildout,” TD Cowen noted.
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Beyond layoffs, Oracle is weighing the sale of its healthcare software arm Cerner, which it acquired for $28.3 billion in 2022. The company is also shifting costs to customers through new strategies.
One such move is a ‘bring your own chip’ model, under which new cloud customers would supply their own hardware. This approach reduces Oracle’s capital burden while allowing it to add capacity.
Despite the challenges, Oracle expects to raise between $45 billion and $50 billion in 2026 to develop its cloud infrastructure further. This news is part of a larger trend in the tech industry, where companies are undergoing significant restructuring in order to fund expensive AI strategies in tighter financing markets.