'Over in 20-mins': Oracle employee describes firing over Zoom call
What's the story
Oracle has been making headlines for its recent layoffs. The firings are mainly happening in the cloud unit, including engineering, data center operations and AI teams in India and the US. An employee from the database team shared his experience. He said it happened in less than 20 minutes, with a Zoom invite and his manager on call. The HR said he was being let go for business reasons. His system access was revoked immediately and he lost stock benefits.
Global impact
Layoffs extend beyond India
The layoffs are not limited to India but extend globally as well. Over 300 employees in California and Washington were recently let go, according to tech news site CRN. This comes after Oracle's heavy investment in artificial intelligence and a major deal with OpenAI for new data center capacity in the US.
Strategic shift
Concerns about Oracle's shifting strategy
The recent layoffs have raised concerns among employees about a major shift in Oracle's strategy. Just a few years ago, the company had announced big investments in Bengaluru and training programs for Indian students. Now, workers are being shown the exit with little warning. As one employee put it, "You don't even get time to process it. One minute you're working, the next minute you're out."
Workforce reduction
Severance packages offered to laid-off employees
Reports suggest that nearly 10% of Oracle's workforce in India has been affected by these layoffs. Some workers claim that over 3,000 people have been impacted. Most of the fired employees received severance packages ranging from one month to 12 months of pay, depending on their seniority, location, as well as legal requirements. The layoffs span multiple locations including Austin, Kansas City, India, Philippines among others.