Oracle has drawn up plans for a new round of job cuts to reduce payroll as it racks up billions in debt to fund AI infrastructure, according to people familiar with the plans and an internal document viewed by Business Insider.
The cuts could reach double-digit percentages on some teams, according to the document. The company has requested managers provide lists of affected employees, with the intention of reducing payroll by the time the second quarter begins on Sept. 1, according to one of the people with direct knowledge.
Oracle declined to comment.
This potential round of layoffs follows cuts earlier this year. The company’s workforce declined by 21,000, or 13%, in the 2026 fiscal year that ended May 31, including through layoffs, according to a recent filing. Oracle currently has around 141,000 employees, according to the company.
The cuts also highlight the tradeoffs of the AI infrastructure boom. As the company borrows tens of billions of dollars to build data centers and buy chips, it’s also looking for savings elsewhere, including its workforce. The cuts underscore how even companies benefiting from surging AI demand are under pressure to balance massive capital spending with Wall Street’s profitability expectations.
The company spent $55.7 billion on infrastructure, including new data centers, in its 2026 fiscal year, spending $23.7 billion more in cash than it brought in during the year.
It raised $43 billion through debt during the 2026 fiscal year, $5 billion from stock sales, and expects to raise about another $40 billion through a mix of debt and stock in its current fiscal year.
Oracle cites increased demand as justification for the buildout. Revenue rose 17% in its latest fiscal year, and its cloud infrastructure business grew 77%, as demand for computing power to run AI surged. But that growth requires Oracle to invest heavily in data centers and equipment, marking a shift for a company that built its business on selling database software.
Oracle’s stock is down nearly 26% this year. While Wall Street is broadly wary of skyrocketing infrastructure costs across the industry, the stock slide may also reflect fears that AI will replace traditional software tools, which has driven a broad sell-off of software stocks.
On an earnings call earlier in March, Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison downplayed those fears, telling analysts he believes the so-called SaaSpocalypse will be a problem for other companies, but not his.
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