Oracle, Microsoft and Meta laid off 165,000 employees to invest in AI infrastructure

Oracle laid off nearly 30,000 employees in April 2026 — the largest single layoff in the company's history. This is part of a large-scale strategy of capital redistribution: funds freed up from the payroll budget will go toward building artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Why is Oracle laying off 30,000 people?

The logic behind the layoffs was explained by Larry Ellison himself — chairman of the board and chief technology officer of Oracle. According to his conviction, the winners of the next technology cycle are those who are building AI infrastructure today: data centers, computational clusters, networks for training and running large models.

Cutting 30,000 employees will free up to $12 billion per year. Over several years, this money will cover massive investments: by 2027, Oracle plans to invest $70 billion in building data centers around the world. The company is making a principled choice — computational capacity instead of jobs where possible.

• Date of Oracle's layoffs — April 2026, approximately 30,000 employees
• Planned data center investments — $70 billion by 2027
• Expected annual savings from layoffs — up to $12 billion
• Total number of employees laid off in the technology sector over two years — approximately 165,000 people

Who else has conducted mass layoffs?

Oracle is not an exception, but part of a systemic trend. Over the past two years, the world's largest technology companies have systematically reduced personnel, redirecting freed-up budgets to AI investments.

In 2026, Microsoft laid off 15,000 employees — one of the largest layoffs in the corporation's history. Meta in May 2026 let go of 8,000 workers, explaining the decision as necessary to invest in AI. Amazon over two years parted ways with almost 50,000 people. Combined, only in major Western tech companies, approximately 165,000 specialists have been left without work.

"Those who build AI infrastructure will win,"

Larry Ellison is convinced.

It is telling that the layoffs are not due to financial difficulties: the same Microsoft, Meta, and Oracle are recording record revenues. This is a deliberate redistribution of resources — from human labor to computational capacity.

Will the wave reach Russia?

So far, mass layoffs are primarily a Western story. However, signs of labor market cooling are already visible in Russia as well: companies have become much more selective in hiring, in a number of sectors "hidden" layoffs are occurring without public announcements, and wage growth has slowed or completely stopped.

Beginning specialists — junior developers — are particularly vulnerable. When companies simultaneously cut personnel expenses and implement AI tools, the value of an employee with minimal experience falls first. Transitions in the history of technology have always been accompanied by labor market redistribution — and the current AI transition will be no exception.

For a career in 2026–2027, this means: simply being able to "write code" is no longer enough. Those who know how to work with AI tools and increase their own productivity through this will be in demand.

What does this mean

Technology giants are systematically betting on AI infrastructure, cutting traditional personnel. For specialists — and especially beginners — this is a clear signal: you need to master AI tools faster than the wave of cooling reaches your sector.

Frequently asked questions

By how much will Oracle reduce personnel expenses?

Cutting 30,000 employees will free up to $12 billion per year for Oracle — this is exactly how much the company intends to redirect to finance data centers and AI infrastructure.

When will Oracle invest $70 billion in data centers?

According to the company's statement, by 2027, the total volume of investments in data center construction will reach $70 billion.

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