Oracle cut off employees' system access, Slack accounts, and building badges before sending a 6 a.m. termination email on September 14, part of a restructuring that has already eliminated 21,000 roles. Oracle is offering the laid-off workers four weeks of severance plus one additional week per year of service, which appears less generous than packages offered by Salesforce and Microsoft.
Oracle employees woke up on September 14 to find themselves locked out of their systems, Slack accounts, and building badges before an email explaining why arrived at 6 a.m. The message, sent from a generic "Oracle Leadership" address, told recipients their roles had been eliminated effective immediately and asked them to supply a personal email address so the company could send severance paperwork.
A familiar pattern
Oracle ran a nearly identical process during layoffs in March 2026, when employees also lost access to internal tools before being told they had lost their jobs. The September cuts extend a restructuring that, during fiscal 2026, eliminated approximately 21,000 roles — a 13% reduction that brought headcount from roughly 162,000 down to about 141,000.
Severance terms undercut Big Tech peers
Oracle is offering the recently laid-off employees four weeks of severance and an additional week per year of service, according to documents viewed by Business Insider. Oracle's standard pay plan, reported in March, caps total severance at 26 weeks of base salary. Oracle did not respond to a request for comment.
The termination email Oracle sent employees stated: According to Business Insider: "As a result, today is your last working day." The new round started Monday, confirming earlier reporting that the company had drawn up plans to reduce payroll as it racks up billions in debt to fund AI infrastructure.
Oracle's package appears less generous than those offered by its Big Tech peers. Salesforce's standard policy offers up to 30 weeks of severance, with a minimum of 9 or 13 weeks depending on role plus three additional weeks per year of service. Microsoft this summer offered up to 39 weeks of base pay, with a minimum of 60 days and one or two additional weeks per six months of service.
Money redirected to AI infrastructure
Oracle has been pouring the savings into AI infrastructure and cloud capacity rather than sitting on them. Recent filings show the company has allocated an additional $700 million for restructuring expenses, covering severance, exit costs, and the overhead of dismantling teams and reassigning work.
Sources: Crypto Briefing, Business Insider
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