This tech firm fired hundreds of employees over a Zoom call, HR said…

Oracle has started large-scale layoffs in India and the US, with employees describing sudden Zoom calls where they were informed of job loss within minutes.

Oracle employees in India say routine emails and meetings now carry uncertainty, with many ending in sudden layoff announcements. According to a report by Economic Times, recent job cuts at Oracle have left thousands anxious about job security.

Oracle layoffs in India and the US have left thousands of employees uncertain about their future, with many losing jobs over sudden Zoom calls.

By MD Ijaj Khan

Ijaj Khan is a technology journalist and Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times, with over three years of experience covering the consumer technology industry. His work spans smartphones, laptops, wearables, gaming, appliances and AI - from hands-on reviews, comparison and buying guides to breaking news and in-depth features that help readers cut through the noise and make informed decisions. Before joining HT Tech, he worked with Jagran New Media, where he sharpened his instincts for fast-paced digital reporting. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in English Journalism and Mass Communication from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi. Whether he's testing the latest flagship smartphone, tracking a major AI announcement, or putting a gaming laptop through its paces, Ijaj approaches every story with the same goal - making technology feel relevant and easy to understand for everyday users, not just enthusiasts. When he's not in front of a screen for work, he's usually travelling to a new city, hunting for great food, or keeping tabs on what's next in tech before everyone else catches on.

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One employee from the database team described how fast it unfolded. “It was all over in less than 20 minutes: a Zoom invite, my manager on the call, and then the HR person telling me I was being let go. They said it wasn’t about my performance but purely business reasons. My system access was cut immediately. I was also due to get stock benefits in February, but now I’ve lost them,” he told ET. He added that informing his parents, who depend on his salary, was the hardest part.

Another employee said he joined what he thought was a regular business update, only to realise it was a layoff call. “The HR person only explained the severance package. It felt very cold and mechanical,” he said.

The layoffs are concentrated in Oracle’s cloud business, covering engineering, data centre operations, and AI teams in both India and the US. Reports suggest that nearly 10 percent of Oracle’s India staff may have been impacted, though the company has not disclosed exact figures.

CRN reported that more than 300 employees were let go in California and Washington recently. Meanwhile, Oracle is increasing investment in artificial intelligence and has signed a major agreement with OpenAI to build new data centre capacity in the US.

For Indian employees, this marks a sharp contrast to earlier years when Oracle had announced large-scale investments in Bengaluru and student training initiatives. Now, several workers say they are being dismissed with little warning.

As one affected employee summed it up, “You don’t even get time to process it. One minute you’re working, the next minute you’re out.”