TLDRs;
- Oracle has laid off over 100 employees in India, citing restructuring tied to AI adoption and efficiency.
- Severance offers include 15 days’ salary per year of service and one year of medical insurance support.
- Layoffs follow Oracle’s historic pattern of job cuts tied to business model shifts—from hardware to cloud and now AI.
- Entry-level workers face mounting challenges as AI reduces traditional tech career entry points across the industry.
Oracle Corporation has initiated another round of layoffs in India, cutting over 100 positions as the U.S.-based tech giant accelerates its shift toward artificial intelligence (AI) and cost optimization.
The move is part of a larger global restructuring effort that has already impacted thousands of employees worldwide.
The company, which employs around 30,000 people in India, confirmed reductions across several teams, including its flagship Oracle Cloud division. Sources familiar with the matter say the layoffs were communicated through internal notices, with the firm citing “organizational changes” tied to AI adoption and efficiency improvements.
Severance and employee support
Affected employees have been offered a severance package of 15 days’ salary for each year of completed service, a structure Oracle has used in previous retrenchments. In addition, workers are being provided up to a year of medical insurance coverage to help ease the transition.
While the company has not disclosed the exact breakdown of the layoffs, insiders note that the cuts have spanned multiple departments and seniority levels, with even long-serving staff, some with 15 to 20 years of tenure, affected.
For many, the severance offer provides a cushion, but it has also sparked concerns about job security in an industry undergoing rapid change.
Continuation of a restructuring cycle
This latest downsizing fits into a broader pattern. Oracle has historically executed layoffs when transitioning its business model. In 2017, the company let go of nearly 1,000 employees tied to its SPARC and Solaris hardware divisions. A smaller round in 2019 saw nearly 100 jobs cut in India as Oracle shifted focus toward cloud subscriptions.
The current layoffs, sources suggest, represent the next stage: a pivot toward AI-driven products and services. Each strategic transition has required reallocating resources, often at the expense of employees whose roles no longer align with the new direction.
“Oracle has been evolving its business in cycles—from hardware to software licensing, then cloud services, and now AI,” one analyst explained. “The workforce adjustments reflect that ongoing transformation.”
Impact on entry-level opportunities
The restructuring wave has disproportionately affected entry-level tech professionals. Across the industry, roles for recent graduates have declined as AI increasingly automates routine tasks that once served as stepping stones for junior employees.
Reports indicate that Oracle is prioritizing hiring in highly specialized AI and cloud-related fields while scaling back positions in areas considered less critical to its future growth. This mirrors a wider tech sector trend, where traditional career pathways are narrowing for newcomers as companies compete to secure top-tier AI expertise.
“AI is reshaping not just business models but workforce composition,” another industry observer noted. “For young professionals, the challenge is now finding a way into companies that are prioritizing advanced skills over entry-level roles.”
Global scope of layoffs
Oracle’s India layoffs form part of a broader global retrenchment, with more than 3,000 jobs cut worldwide this year by firms like Salesforce.
The firm’s emphasis on AI comes as rivals like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon pour billions into similar initiatives, creating a fiercely competitive environment in which efficiency and talent reallocation are seen as essential.
For affected employees, the shift has been painful but not entirely unexpected. The cyclical nature of Oracle’s restructuring means layoffs have become almost routine with each strategic pivot. Still, with AI now at the center of the company’s strategy, the latest cuts signal a new phase in its long-term transformation.
