US-based tech company Oracle, owned by Larry Ellison, the world’s 6th richest businessman, has laid off around 30,000 employees. According to media reports, 12,000 Indian employees are included in the layoffs. Employees received emails between 5 and 6 AM, and their system access was blocked within minutes. The company may also start a second round of layoffs next month. According to several Oracle employees, when they woke up in the morning, there was a termination letter in their inbox. Entire teams in India have been eliminated overnight. Employees told – this is their last working day Employees in the US, India, Canada, and other regions reportedly received this message, which was sent by “Oracle Leadership.” Business Insider has seen these emails. It stated: “After considering Oracle’s current business needs, we have eliminated your role as part of a larger organisational change. Consequently, today is your last working day. Thank you for your contributions to our organisation.” The email also asked employees to provide their personal email addresses for future correspondence. The company clarified that these email IDs would only be used for discussions related to severance packages and transition support. Employees laid off due to AI Michael Shepherd, a senior manager, wrote on LinkedIn that senior engineers, architects, operations leaders, program managers, and technical specialists were laid off. He stated that these layoffs were not performance-based. A BBC report, citing senior employees, stated that the company is investing heavily in AI, which has led to this step. Oracle is internally using AI tools. With their help, fewer employees are able to do more work. Fired for protesting 16-hour shifts Merugu Sridhar, a former Oracle employee, claimed that he was fired in September. He had protested against the company’s 16-hour work shift culture. Sridhar claims that he was fired because of this protest. He also stated that Indian-origin employees working in America have been most affected. Oracle did not state the reason for layoffs When an official response was sought from Oracle regarding the large-scale layoffs and news of the next round, the company refused to comment on it. No official statement has been issued by the company so far. Experts are calling this an invisible layoff Experts are calling this an ‘invisible layoff’, where companies are gradually reducing their workforce without much fanfare, instead of making big announcements. In the last three months, more than 94,000 people have lost their jobs from companies like Amazon, Meta, and Dell combined. Oracle is among the world’s largest tech companies Oracle is one of the world’s largest tech companies. It provides software and cloud computing infrastructure to other companies. Larry Ellison, counted among the world’s richest people, is Oracle’s co-founder, chairman, and Chief Technology Officer.
