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Oracle employee with cancer laid off via email after 20 years at company: 'Not even a phone call'
An Oracle employee battling cancer lost his job just 2 years before retirement.
Oracle has begun laying off employees across its global offices as part of a broader cost-cutting and organisational restructuring exercise, according to a report by Business Insider. Notifications began reaching impacted employees early Tuesday, though the overall scale of the job cuts remains unclear.
Amid this, a Reddit post titled “After 20 years and 2 years before retirement, my dad just got laid off via Email,” has caught the internet’s attention. The post described how an employee battling cancer lost his job without even a phone call.
“My dad has worked for Oracle for 20 years, worked for the same boss for 20 years. Not even a phone call. These companies are evil. What is he supposed to do for the next 2 years? Keep in mind, he has cancer and now he has no health insurance,” the user wrote.
(Also Read: As Oracle lays off employees globally, here’s the email it sent to impacted staff: 'Today is your last working day')
Social media reactions
The post quickly sparked a discussion online, with many sharing similar experiences.
“Sorry to hear that. Many people who were the backbone in building the company and contributed a lot are laid off with an email. This is really not right,” one user wrote.
“My dad also got laid off, 19 years. He has cancer as well. And the country he's in he has to pack bags in a month for his home country. 35 years and packing up in 30 days. Yeah companies don't care,” shared another.
Some users shared their own experiences of being laid off after long tenures. “I was with the company for 17 years and I was just notified by email about my position as well. Best of luck to everybody out there! Go kill it!” one user wrote.
Others pointed to the abrupt nature of the process. “I was also laid off after almost 5 years, but it was yesterday. My, now former, manager had scheduled a call last Friday for a “quick catch up” where he told me the news. Oracle had transferred me to Canada from the U.S. 6 months ago. Now my family and I are alone and jobless and with immigration uncertainty. At least we had one last call before I was locked out of everything,” another user said.
One user also suggested ways to push back. “Maybe you can pressure Oracle about insurance? Epic got public backlash for laying off a terminally ill brain cancer patient and they sorted the insurance out afterwards. Maybe you can post on LinkedIn or something?” the Redditor said.
(Also Read: Techie who lost ₹32 LPA job turned layoff into a head start: ‘They are paying me to find my next job’)
Oracle layoff
The layoffs appear to be unfolding in phases globally. The termination email, copies of which were viewed by Business Insider, informed staff that their roles had been eliminated “after careful consideration of Oracle’s current business needs”. It added that the decision was part of a wider organisational change and that the affected employee’s last working day would be immediate.
“We are grateful for your dedication, hard work, and the impact you have made during your time with us,” the email read. It also instructed employees to urgently provide a personal email address to receive separation-related documents and warned that access to company systems would be revoked shortly.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
