Austin: Tech major Oracle is preparing to lay off between 20,000 and 30,000 employees this week as it races to plug a growing cash gap triggered by its aggressive bet on artificial intelligence, according to media reports.
The cost-cutting drive is aimed at freeing up $8–10 billion in cash, largely to support Oracle’s reported $300 billion partnership with Sam Altman-led OpenAI, investment bank TD Cowen said in a note quoted by The Times of India.
Oracle is funneling massive resources into building a sprawling network of AI-focused data centres, most of which are designed to meet OpenAI’s surging computing demands. However, the scale of the expansion has begun to strain the company’s finances.
#Layoffs2026 | #Oracle is contemplating cutting nearly 20,000-30,000 jobs and selling some of its activities as US banks pull back from financing the company’s #AI data centre expansion, according to a CIO report.
Details here ⬇️| #OracleLayoffs #OracleLayoffNews… pic.twitter.com/jdhmCyGEPC
— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) February 2, 2026
According to Mint, major U.S. banks have recently pulled back from funding Oracle’s data centre plans. Since September last year, lenders have doubled interest-rate premiums on Oracle borrowings, sharply raising the company’s cost of capital.
The funding squeeze has already forced Oracle to pause negotiations on several data centre leases, leading to delays and capacity shortfalls—falling below the expectations of key clients, especially OpenAI.
To shore up cash, Oracle has reportedly started charging new customers up to 40% of contract value upfront. The company is also testing a “bring your own chip” model, under which clients supply their own hardware to reduce Oracle’s capital burden.
TD Cowen added that Oracle has begun redirecting some near-term capacity demand to rivals Microsoft and Amazon, underlining the mounting pressure on the company’s AI expansion strategy.
The sweeping job cuts mark one of the largest workforce reductions in the tech sector this year, highlighting the financial risks behind the global AI infrastructure race.
