Oracle Cuts 21,000 Jobs as AI Adoption Reshapes Workforce

New Delhi — Oracle reduced its global workforce by about 21,000 employees over the past year, with the technology company acknowledging that its adoption of artificial intelligence contributed to some of the cuts.

Oracle reported 141,000 full-time employees as of May 31, down from 162,000 a year earlier, according to its annual regulatory filing.

“The adoption and deployment of AI technologies across our operations have resulted, and may continue to result, in reductions to our workforce,” the company said in the filing.

Oracle recorded about $1.8 billion in restructuring costs related to the workforce reductions.

The disclosure comes as the company invests heavily in AI infrastructure and data centers to meet rising demand from customers, including OpenAI. Oracle has been expanding its AI and cloud-computing capabilities amid increasing competition among major technology providers.

At the end of May, the company employed approximately 49,000 people in the United States and 92,000 internationally.

Oracle’s total workforce has now fallen slightly below the level recorded before its 2022 acquisition of electronic health records company Cerner.

Reports earlier this year indicated that Oracle had begun laying off employees across its global operations. Some affected workers said on social media that they received termination notices by email at about 6 a.m. local time in the United States.

The annual filing provides one of the clearest indications of how the adoption of AI is beginning to alter staffing requirements at major technology companies. (Source: IANS)