Oracle recently laid off an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 employees through email notifications on March 31. Affected employees shared their experiences with TechCrunch; one noted a sudden inability to log into the VPN or Slack. They later received an email confirming their termination, followed by a severance offer days later, which sparked controversy.
Oracle’s severance package included four weeks’ pay for the first year, an additional week per year of service capped at 26 weeks, and one month of COBRA insurance, in exchange for employees waiving their right to sue. However, the company did not fast-track the vesting of soon-to-vest RSUs, even for stocks granted as retention incentives. One long-term employee lost $1 million in stocks close to vesting.
Employees classified as remote workers were sometimes excluded from WARN Act protections if not based in states like California or New York. Some were unaware of their remote classification, affecting their severance terms as Oracle included the WARN Act notice pay in their severance calculations.
A group of employees attempted a collective negotiation without success, petitioning for severance terms more competitive with other tech companies such as Meta, Microsoft, and Cloudflare. For example, Meta started at 16 weeks’ base pay plus additional benefits, Microsoft offered accelerated stock vesting, and Cloudflare provided lump-sum severance and extended healthcare and stock vesting. Oracle remained firm on their terms and refused to comment when queried about the severance package and employee negotiations.
The situation highlights the lack of protections for tech workers during layoffs, despite perceived high pay and perks in an employee-driven market.