Oracle has begun notifying employees of layoffs affecting thousands of workers, CNBC confirmed, as the company faces a 25% stock decline this year driven by investor concern over its heavy AI infrastructure spending and shrinking cash flow. The company raised $50B in debt and equity in January to fund its data center buildout, and analysts at TD Cowen estimated in January that cutting 20,000 to 30,000 employees could generate $8B to $10B in incremental free cash flow. Oracle employed 162,000 people as of May 2025 and has leaned heavily on contracted AI deals to justify its spending, including an agreement with OpenAI worth over $300B that pushed its remaining performance obligations to $553B, according to executives on a recent earnings call.
