Oracle made headlines when it sent out termination emails to an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 employees on March 31. One of the employees who was let go shared their experience with DailyTech, describing the moment they realized they had been terminated. The abruptness of losing access to VPN and work communication platforms highlighted the suddenness of the decision. The terminated employee received an email confirming the end of their role immediately, followed by a standard severance offer a few days later. However, the terms of the severance package did not sit well with some former employees, leading to pushback against Oracle. Oracle's severance offer included four weeks of pay for the first year of service, with an additional week for each subsequent year, capping at 26 weeks. The company also covered one month of COBRA insurance. However, the catch was that unvested stock options were forfeited, even those granted as incentives or part of compensation packages. In addition, employees classified as remote workers in states with weaker labor protections found themselves ineligible for certain benefits under the WARN Act, which requires companies to provide notice before mass layoffs. Some employees were unaware of this classification due to working near an office. Techcrunch event San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026 Efforts to negotiate better terms collectively with Oracle were unsuccessful, with the company refusing to budge from its initial offer. This stood in contrast to severance packages offered by other tech giants like Meta, Microsoft, and Cloudflare, which provided more generous terms to laid-off employees. Oracle's stance on negotiations and severance terms, as well as its classification of remote workers, drew criticism from former employees. Despite attempts to seek better conditions, Oracle remained firm in its position, leaving many feeling unprotected in an industry known for its lucrative but volatile nature. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
