American technology giant Oracle has laid off around 10% of its Indian workforce, impacting dozens of skilled professionals overnight. While the company has cited “restructuring” as the official reason, industest watchers are linking the cuts to shifting US policy under President Donald Trump’s renewed push to curb offshoring and reduce reliance on H-1B visas. Oracle’s Indian operations — long a key hub for software development, cloud services, and technical support — are among the hardest hit, even as the company ramps up hiring at its Virginia office.
The timing has sparked speculation after Oracle CEO Larry Wilson orac met Trump at the Oval Office on August 7 to discuss domestic hiring, technology partnerships, and national data security. Just days later, Oracle announced a landmark deal with OpenAI, under which a massive volume of OpenAI’s data will be processed on Oracle’s systems. Cuts have also been reported in Canada and Mexico, with employees in other regions bracing for further job losses. In the Seattle area, more than 150 roles have already been eliminated, though the company is still hiring for select positions in tarobtained areas.
Oracle India, which employed roughly 28,824 people as of 2024, plays a major role in the company’s global operations. The layoffs come amid a wider trfinish in the tech sector, where Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta have all reduced headcount this year to offset the soaring costs of AI infrastructure. For Oracle, the OpenAI partnership and its role in the $500 billion “Stargate” AI project with SoftBank have positioned it as a major AI player — but also brought steep financial pressures, with the company spfinishing more than it earned in the fiscal year finishing May.
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