Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) is preparing another round of workforce reductions this month, even as the company continues to rack up billions in debt to fund its AI infrastructure ambitions.
Business Insider reported the planned cuts on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the situation and an internal document that outlined the company’s intentions.
The reductions could reach double-digit percentages on certain teams, with managers already asked to provide lists of affected employees ahead of the second quarter, which begins September 1.
The latest round follows an already dramatic period of retrenchment, with Oracle eliminating 21,000 full-time roles in its fiscal year ending May 2026.
The company’s total workforce shrank 13% to 141,000 employees as of May 31, according to Oracle’s annual report.
Oracle spent $1.84 billion in severance payments and other exit costs related to restructuring activities during that fiscal year, a figure significantly higher than the $374 million it spent in fiscal year 2025.
The company attributed the fiscal year 2026 workforce adjustments to various factors, including management and product changes, performance issues, strategic shifts, and acquisitions.
Despite the headcount reductions, Oracle’s business fundamentals have shown remarkable momentum, with remaining performance obligations surging 363% to a record $638 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter, surpassing those of both Alphabet and Microsoft.
Oracle has secured major data-center agreements with OpenAI and Meta, bolstering its challenge to cloud computing leaders such as Amazon and Microsoft.
To fund the rapid capacity expansion, Oracle raised $43 billion in debt financing and $5 billion in equity in its most recently completed fiscal year, and is targeting $40 billion in debt and equity for the current fiscal year.
Oracle’s total liabilities, including debt, jumped 48% to $218.7 billion in the fourth quarter, marking the sharpest surge on record and raising concerns among some investors over high leverage and reliance on a handful of large customers.
ORCL shares gained 1.2% in overnight trading on Tuesday following the Business Insider report, offering some relief after the stock hit a 52-week low in July.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits dipped over the past week and sat at “bearish” on Tuesday, though several traders pointed to CoreWeave’s strong quarterly results as a positive signal for cloud infrastructure demand broadly.
“$ORCL CoreWeave right on time. Theory proven. Buy the dip,” one trader wrote, while another added: “$ORCL this company has been around forever. They know how to manage debt and can recognize when it gets out of control. I’m not worried.”
CoreWeave’s second-quarter revenue more than doubled, with its backlog crossing $100 billion, and the firm raised its 2026 revenue target in its latest earnings report issued Tuesday.
On the analyst side, 36 out of 44 analysts rate ORCL “Buy” or higher, seven rate it “Hold,” and one rates it “Strong Sell,” according to Koyfin data.
The average analyst price target of $246.67 implies approximately 70% upside from the stock’s closing price on Tuesday, suggesting considerable institutional confidence in Oracle’s longer-term trajectory despite near-term debt pressures.
