Oracle accused of targeting employees with stock options in recent layoffs | Latest Tech News
A former Oracle worker accused the tech giant of targeting staff “with outstanding stock options” in a recent spherical of layoffs — as the company reportedly supplied its new chief financial officer a juicy $26 million stock bundle.
A 30-year Oracle veteran lately took to LinkedIn as the Larry Ellison-led company laid off about 700 staff, with 1000’s of more cuts probably in the offing.
“Well, after 30+ years at Oracle, I join the 30,000 or so laid off today. Quite a shock. Many of the absolute best colleagues were laid off as well,” Nina Lewis wrote.
Outrage grows around layoffs carried out by Larry Ellison’s Oracle. Getty Images
“It seems (BUT I DON’T KNOW), maybe, layoffs follow an algorithm of high level individual contributors and mid-level managers – especially those with outstanding stock options,” she continued.
“Not sure what to do next, if anything. Open to ideas,” Lewis concluded with a smile emoticon.
Laid-off employees immediately forfeited their unvested stock, according to Marketwise, though their vested stock remained accessible.
Oracle declined to remark.
Lewis clarified in a follow-up post that she had “NO specific inside knowledge of any layoff algorithm” but that rumors circulating among employees “appear to match what we see around us as a possible pattern.”
“Again, I have no inside knowledge of any ‘hidden algorithm’, although there must be some system/algorithm if you are laying off 30k people,” she added.
Other former employees voiced related suspicions on office boards like Blind and TheLayoff.com, with some claiming they had been laid off shortly before upcoming vesting dates.
Oracle lately named Hilary Maxson as their new CFO. Hilary Maxson / LinkedIn
Oracle senior supervisor Michael Shepherd wrote on LinkedIn that the layoffs had been “not performance based.”
“I really dont [sic] have anything else to add besides the people laid off, it was not performance related, we lost some of the most experienced, critical people. If I say anything else it wouldn’t be good for my career at Oracle,” he told the Post in a Monday e mail.
The company lately detailed a first batch of layoffs, with 700 staff anticipated to lose their jobs by June 1. Oracle was set to cut 310 staff in Redwood City, 184 in Santa Clara, 158 in Pleasanton and 50 in Santa Monica, according to California state data.
Analysts at investment bank TD Cowen predicted earlier this yr that Oracle may cut up to 30,000 staff and promote some of its belongings amid a push to finance AI infrastructure initiatives. They said those layoffs may free up $8 to $10 billion in money circulate.
Laid-off employees immediately forfeited their unvested stock, according to Marketwise. REUTERS
The cuts come as Oracle filed for about 3,126 petitions to make use of H-1B staff in fiscal years 2025 and 2026, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data, drawing outrage.
Earlier this month, the company employed Hilary Maxson as its new CFO.
Her compensation bundle contains a $26 million stock bundle on top of her $950,000 annual base wage, according to Marketwise.
Maxson, 48, beforehand served as government vice president and led finance at power giant Schneider Electric.
She’s Oracle’s first CFO since 2014, when Safra Catz took on the roles of both CEO and main financial officer, Marketwise famous.
Oracle reported a 95% increase in web income last quarter to $6.13 billion. The company is investing closely in artificial intelligence infrastructure, with $50 billion in capital expenditures deliberate for the current fiscal yr. It has also taken on more than $100 billion in debt to finance the buildout.
The Post has sought remark from Lewis.
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