BENGALURU — Oracle India employees are grappling with a growing sense of unease as routine project update emails increasingly take on a more ominous tone. Following a wave of recent layoffs, several employees say these updates have become a proxy for impending job cuts. The uncertainty has cast a shadow over India’s second-largest tech hub, where Oracle employs nearly 30,000 professionals.
The anxiety is not without cause. Multiple Oracle India staff members, particularly those within the database and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) divisions, report abrupt layoffs conducted over brief Zoom calls. Affected employees claim there was no prior indication of performance issues. Instead, they were informed that the decision stemmed purely from strategic restructuring.
“It was over in 20 minutes,” said one laid-off database team employee, requesting anonymity. “The Zoom invite came without much context. My manager and an HR representative were on the call. They said it wasn’t about performance, just business priorities. I lost access almost immediately. My RSUs (Restricted Stock Units) were due to vest in February — I’ve lost them now.”
Another employee from a business applications unit shared a similar experience, stating that what was initially billed as a project review turned into a sudden termination conversation. “I’ve enrolled in outplacement services, but nothing can really prepare you for this. The process was mechanical. The HR just outlined the severance terms. No empathy, no explanation,” he said.
Layoffs Sweep Across Oracle’s Cloud Division
Reports indicate that Oracle’s latest round of layoffs has particularly impacted its OCI division, which includes engineering, data center operations, and AI/ML teams. While Oracle has not officially confirmed the scale of layoffs, industry insiders estimate that up to 10% of its Indian workforce could be affected — a figure amounting to around 3,000 employees.
The job losses in India come on the heels of similar actions in the United States. According to Data Center Dynamics and CRN, Oracle has laid off over 300 employees in California and Washington, including engineering staff and technical managers. These cuts appear linked to a broader global reallocation of resources towards AI-centric development.
The backdrop to these layoffs is Oracle’s deepening commitment to AI. The company recently entered into a landmark agreement with OpenAI to expand Stargate data center capacity in the U.S. by 4.5 gigawatts — a move aimed at bolstering Oracle’s standing in the high-performance cloud computing space. While this investment may generate new jobs in the long run, current employees say the transition is leaving many behind.
A Legacy of Promises Meets Current Realities
Oracle’s presence in India has historically been substantial and promising. During her 2016 visit, CEO Safra Catz announced a $400 million investment in a state-of-the-art Bengaluru campus. She also detailed plans to establish nine regional tech incubation centers and train over 500,000 Indian students annually.
At the time, Oracle India employed around 40,000 people, making it one of the company’s largest global hubs. The country was home to significant R&D operations, and India played a critical role in the company’s global product development.
Fast forward to the 2023-24 financial year, and Oracle India posted revenue of ₹20,459 crore, up from ₹18,283 crore the previous year — a 12% year-on-year increase. However, the company’s net profit declined to ₹1,410 crore, down from ₹1,626 crore. Financials for the 2024-25 fiscal year remain undisclosed.
Despite the revenue growth, the recent wave of layoffs reflects Oracle’s evolving priorities. The company appears to be repositioning itself for a future dominated by AI, cloud scalability, and multi-cloud infrastructure, leaving traditional roles vulnerable to elimination.
Severance Terms Vary, Morale Sinks
Details of severance packages shared anonymously on forums like Reddit reveal inconsistencies in the company’s exit process. One employee in Oracle Fusion India, with just over two years of service, received four months’ severance. Meanwhile, a peer from the SaaS observability team with over five years at the company got eight months’ severance.
“Some teams got prior signals through budget discussions or performance reviews. But many of us had no warning,” said a former employee from the AI analytics unit. “It felt like the company had decided to cut, and everything else was just formalities.”
Another employee based in Hyderabad echoed similar sentiments: “It’s like a lottery now. You don’t know when your number will come up. Every team update email feels like a red flag.”
Adding to the discomfort is the opaque communication from senior leadership. While internal memos mention “realignment with strategic priorities,” employees say that leadership has failed to address the emotional and logistical toll the restructuring has created.
Global Shift Towards AI Displaces Workers
Oracle’s pivot mirrors a larger shift across the global tech industry, where companies are aggressively investing in AI infrastructure while simultaneously reducing headcount in legacy units. Oracle’s agreement with OpenAI to jointly develop high-performance data centers is part of this recalibration.
In a recent SEC filing, Safra Catz stated that Oracle is “off to a strong start in FY26,” citing over 100% growth in MultiCloud database revenue. One unnamed deal is expected to contribute more than $30 billion in annual revenue starting in FY28.
While the future may look promising on paper, the present paints a different picture for thousands of Oracle workers across the globe. The balance between investing in emerging technologies and maintaining employee morale has never been more precarious.
Trust Erodes as Employees Brace for More Cuts
The absence of transparent communication has deepened mistrust within Oracle India. Multiple employees told Samachar Post that they now treat every internal meeting invite with suspicion. A Bengaluru-based employee in the cloud security team said, “The culture has shifted. Nobody talks openly anymore. Everyone is watching their back.”
Another employee, working in Oracle’s financial software unit in Pune, said, “There’s this constant fear. You don’t know if your project is next on the chopping block.”
Despite Oracle’s long-standing roots in India, many employees now feel disconnected from the company’s leadership and unsure about their future. There is growing concern that layoffs could spread beyond OCI to include support roles, marketing, and administrative teams.
Recruitment activity, too, appears to have slowed. Hiring managers report that requisitions have either been paused or withdrawn entirely, while LinkedIn posts from current and former Oracle employees signal a surge in job-seeking activity.
While Oracle’s AI ambitions and cloud expansion strategies may reshape the company’s global identity, the immediate fallout in India raises hard questions about employee welfare, strategic communication, and corporate responsibility.
Oracle’s decision to lay off staff amid rising revenue and AI investments illustrates a harsh reality of modern tech — growth often comes at a cost, and that cost is frequently borne by employees.
For those who remain, the atmosphere is tense and uncertain. For those let go, the road ahead is paved with difficult choices, disrupted routines, and a hope for stability in an unpredictable job market.
As Oracle continues its transformation into an AI-driven cloud giant, its workforce — in India and elsewhere — can only wait and watch, not knowing if the next email they receive will be another routine update or the end of their journey with the company.
