Archive · 21 Sep 2026
Oracle Layoffs Hit Abilene Stargate Site Amid OpenAI Deal
Oracle laid off many workers, including some at its large data center in Abilene, Texas.
The site is connected to Oracle’s work with OpenAI.
Some workers said their badges and computer accounts stopped working before they received an official layoff email.
Reports suggested that about 3,200 U.S. employees may have left the company compared with the previous week.
The reported cuts affected many different departments.
Workers were offered severance based on their time at Oracle.
The company is also spending much more money on computers and data centers for artificial intelligence.
Oracle did not comment on the reported layoffs.
Oracle layoffs reportedly included workers at the Abilene, Texas, Stargate data center.
Employees said badge, login, and Slack access ended before official termination emails arrived.
Reports indicated cuts across OCI, support, engineering, healthcare, sales, and compliance teams.
Oracle’s severance formula provides four weeks of base pay plus one week per service year, with no cap mentioned in the latest documents.
The layoffs came as Oracle reported sharply higher capital spending, a larger restructuring budget, and plans for continued AI investment.
- Who
- Oracle employees, including workers at the Abilene data center, were affected; Oracle and OpenAI are central companies in the report.
- What
- Oracle reportedly conducted broad layoffs that included Abilene Stargate workers and teams across several business units.
- When
- The layoffs were reported on September 14; access problems began hours before many official emails arrived.
- Where
- The cuts reportedly affected Oracle operations across the United States, including Abilene, Phoenix, and Ashburn.
- Why
- The articles connect the layoffs to Oracle’s restructuring and AI adoption efforts, although Oracle did not publicly explain the cuts.
Oracle’s stated project claims
Employee reports and concerns
Abilene project status
Oracle’s stated project claims
Oracle has repeatedly presented the Abilene site as having 200 megawatts of operational capacity, with an eight-building project proceeding on schedule.
Employee reports and concerns
Workers reported layoffs at the site, while the article says OpenAI has chosen not to expand there further and lenders reportedly declined financing with Oracle as tenant.
AI investment versus workforce cuts
Oracle’s stated project claims
Oracle is increasing capital spending and maintaining a large fiscal 2027 investment forecast, while tying part of its restructuring budget to AI adoption.
Employee reports and concerns
Employees and reports questioned the contrast between major AI-related spending and broad layoffs affecting technical, support, sales, healthcare, and compliance teams.
- Abilene capacity
- Oracle has cited 200 megawatts of operational capacity at the Abilene Stargate campus.
- Campus construction
- Oracle has described an eight-building Abilene construction project as proceeding on schedule.
- Estimated U.S. reduction
- Employees estimated Oracle’s U.S. workforce had declined by about 3,200 from the previous Friday.
- Severance formula
- The reported offer is four weeks of base pay plus one additional week for each year of service.
- Restructuring budget
- Oracle expanded its restructuring budget by about $700 million to approximately $2.8 billion.
- Capital expenditure
- Oracle reported $28.5 billion in first-quarter capital expenditure, compared with $8.5 billion a year earlier.
- Fiscal 2027 forecast
- Oracle maintained a fiscal 2027 capital-expenditure forecast of $90 billion to $95 billion.