A long-time employee of Oracle experienced a jarring end to his tenure at the company on Tuesday, as he faced multiple login failures to the company’s VPN. The situation worsened for him when Slack also became unresponsive, prompting a check of his email. It delivered the disheartening news: he was among the thousands of Oracle workers informed that their services were no longer needed.
The employee described the termination message as dismissive, stating, “Basically it said ‘Thank you. Go (expletive) yourself.’” He has chosen to remain anonymous, fearing that discussing his termination publicly could jeopardize a separation package he has yet to receive.
Oracle has so far declined to comment on the number of layoffs that took place on Tuesday. Reports indicate that at least 491 jobs were cut in Washington, as outlined in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice filed in the state. This notice specified that all laid-off workers would be officially separated by June 1. A comprehensive attachment detailing the job cuts highlighted that many of those affected were software developers and project managers.
In Missouri, another WARN notice revealed that 539 employees were laid off in the Kansas City area, which accounted for over half of the 1,021 jobs lost in the state this year alone. These cuts appear to align with Oracle’s restructuring plan for fiscal 2026, initially valued at $1.6 billion last September and later increased to $2.1 billion in March. Recent financial reports indicated that Oracle had recorded $415 million in restructuring expenses in the same quarter as the layoffs in its cloud division were reported.
While the exact number of people affected on Tuesday remains unclear, anecdotal evidence from a screenshot and Reddit activity suggested a drop of around 10,000 users from the internal Slack platform overnight. This wave of layoffs mirrors TD Cowen’s forecast earlier in the year, which speculated that if Oracle was to finance its expanding AI datacenter buildout effectively, jobs could be cut to the tune of 20,000 to 30,000.
The long-time employee expressed not only disappointment but also resignation to the reality of corporate life, stating, “I’m not surprised. It’s corporate America.” He explained that his commitment to the company was never solely driven by high salaries or benefits, although he acknowledged that the latter were substantial. His strong work ethic saw him tending to problems at any time, whether it was the weekend or Christmas, which he believed contributed to his lengthy career at Oracle.
Reflecting on Oracle’s growth from database management to becoming a significant player in AI technology, he noted that he witnessed both the company’s evolution and his own career advancements alongside it. He expressed his admiration for Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, referring to himself as “Uncle Larry’s biggest fan,” despite rumors of a toxic work culture that he personally had not encountered.
As he processed his unexpected job loss, he expressed unusual gratitude that he didn’t receive a direct call regarding his termination, suggesting that the scale of the cuts made such impersonal communication reasonable. “I’m glad I’m near the end of my career and I don’t have kids to worry about,” he remarked, underscoring a mixture of acceptance and relief as he navigates this challenging transition.
