Tech giant Oracle sheds 21,000 jobs in a year as AI replaces some roles

US technology giant Oracle shed about 21,000 roles globally in the last year as it reshapes its business around artificial intelligence (AI), its latest annual report shows.

The software and cloud computing firm says it had around 141,000 full-time employees as of 31 May 2026, down from about 162,000 workers at the same time last year.

The "deployment of AI technologies across our operations have resulted, and may continue to result, in reductions to our workforce," the report says.

The cuts are part of a wider trend among tech firms as they spend hundreds of billions of dollars on adopting AI and building infrastructure like data centres.

More than 100,000 people at tech workers have been laid off in the past year, according to estimates from employment tracking firms.

The firm said the cuts have led to about $1.8bn (£1.36bn) in severance payments and other restructuring costs in the past year.

The sum is significantly higher than the $374m restructuring bill in the previous financial year.

Oracle said that its restructuring efforts "can be disruptive". It warned that the reorganisation may lead to a shortage in skilled workers in certain roles, resulting in a loss of productivity that could impact its earnings.

The BBC has contacted Oracle for further comment.

Oracle has been in a race to roll out data centres for AI giants like OpenAI and Meta.

The BBC previously reported that Oracle planned to spend at least $50bn on infrastructure this year.

The company was co-founded by Larry Ellison, one of the richest people in the world, who also serves as Oracle's chief technology officer.