American giant Oracle, also present in the Romanian market, has started laying off thousands of employees at a time when the company is increasingly focusing its resources on developing infrastructure for artificial intelligence.
According to sources cited by CNBC, some employees have already been notified about the layoffs.
The decision comes amid financial pressures resulting from massive investments in data centers and technologies necessary for the development of artificial intelligence.
At the same time, investors are increasingly concerned about the company's high levels of spending and debt.
Oracle's shares have dropped by approximately 26% since the beginning of the year, a weaker performance compared to other major technology companies.
Bet on data centers and competition with cloud giants
While continuing to profit from its traditional products - especially the database used by companies - Oracle is accelerating investments in infrastructure capable of supporting artificial intelligence applications.
The company directly competes with major cloud service providers such as Amazon but remains smaller than its industry rivals.
To support this strategy, Oracle has heavily relied on financing through loans. Earlier this year, the company announced a plan to raise approximately $50 billion through debt and equity.
Subsequently, management stated that they do not intend to take on new debts in 2026.
Massive contracts and top-level changes
Meanwhile, Oracle is banking on massive contracts in the artificial intelligence field. In September, the company announced a 359% increase in contractual revenue obligations, up to $455 billion, following an agreement of over $300 billion with OpenAI.
Subsequently, the company appointed Mike Sicilia and Clay Magouyrk to take over executive leadership.
Stakes: efficiency and profit growth
Analysts at TD Cowen estimate that the staff reduction - between 20,000 and 30,000 employees - could bring the company an additional $8 to $10 billion in free cash flow.
Despite the layoffs, Oracle's management maintains that investments in artificial intelligence will bring long-term benefits.
Clay Magouyrk recently stated that the demand for AI infrastructure continues to outstrip supply, both for graphics processors and central processors.