Cloud major Oracle on Tuesday began laying off employees worldwide, with several workers receiving an early-morning email announcing their job loss. 

According to a report in Fast Company, Oracle staff around the world began reporting on social media that they had received an email from the company, “informing them that their employment had been terminated”.

The emails apparently began arriving in employees’ inboxes at around 6 am local time in the US.

An Oracle spokesperson declined to immediately comment on the layoffs.

In one version of the email seen by Business Insider, it says, “After careful consideration of Oracle’s current business needs, we have made the decision to eliminate your role as part of a broader organisational change. As a result, today is your last working day.”

It further said that “access to your computer, email, voicemail, and files will be deactivated soon, and you will be unable to log into your computer. As a reminder, you are prohibited from downloading, copying or retaining (including emailing yourself) any Oracle confidential information.”

Several Reddit users also posted a version of the email with different wording.

Laid-off Oracle staff were offered severance and must provide their personal email addresses for follow-up. The company employed around 162,000 full-time employees as of May 2025.

“After signing your termination paperwork, you will be eligible to receive a severance package subject to the terms and conditions of the severance plan. You will receive an email from DocuSign to your Oracle email address with details on your severance and termination date,” according to the email sent to employees.

Reports suggest that Oracle is laying off between 20,000 and 30,000 employees —roughly 18 per cent of its global workforce. Although the company was yet to comment.