'Disgusting, Cowardly, & Ugly': Sacked Employee Reflects On Atmosphere At Oracle Before Mass Layoffs

As Oracle's mass layoff continues to send shockwaves across the technology industry, one affected employee has offered a rare, unfiltered window into what the atmosphere inside the company looked like in the months leading up to the cuts. Oracle fired over 30,000 employees worldwide, with over 12,000 from India via an email.

An impacted employee has shared his thoughts on Reddit, just hours after getting sacked from Oracle. The employee has served over 26 years at Oracle and describes the sacking as a moment of profound personal betrayal, institutional failure, and long-building disillusionment.

Oracle layoff: 'Disgusting, cowardly, and just plain ugly'

The employee did not mince words about how Oracle chose to communicate the end of a 26-year career. "That they didn't bother to do a phone call is disgusting, cowardly, and just plain ugly," he wrote, echoing a sentiment shared widely by thousands of others who received the same impersonal 6 am email from 'Oracle Leadership' on Tuesday with no prior warning.

Oracle layoff: A manager who 'freaked out'

The employee said the writing was on the wall from September 2025, when he was moved to a new team within his organisation. Though his work remained largely the same, the cultural fit was absent from day one. When rumours of a reduction in force began circulating internally, his new manager, a VP, visibly unravelled. "My manager FREAKED out, going on and on about losing his job, polishing up his resume," he wrote, adding that he quickly realised the manager "wouldn't hesitate to put me on the list to save himself, which is what happened."

He attributed his placement on the layoff list to a straightforward calculus - last in, first out. "I suspect that because I was new to that team, they went with last in, first out. Everyone else had worked for him for a number of years," he noted.

Oracle layoff: 'The least welcoming group I've ever worked with'

Despite making efforts to integrate, the employee said his new colleagues never acknowledged his contributions. "None of them know what I did despite trying to share the load," he wrote. "New manager literally did not give a shit, and his team was the least welcoming group I've ever worked with."

Oracle layoff: 'Larry Ellison was not a good guy'

Perhaps his sharpest words were reserved for Oracle's co-founder and Chairman Larry Ellison. "I always kind of vaguely understood that Larry Ellison was not a good guy. But recent months have driven home what a truly bad person he is," he wrote.

Despite the grief, he signed off with quiet resolve. "I will be fine. I'm so, so sad. But I'll be fine."

The entire Reddit post can be read below:

Thoughts 13 Hours After the Email

I was with Oracle for 26 years, and got the email at 6am.

That they didn't bother to do a phone call is disgusting, cowardly, and just plain ugly.

I loved my time at Oracle - up until September, 2025, when I was moved to a different team in my org.

Still doing the same thing (which I loved), plus new stuff (which I didn't). New manager.

Once there was talk of RIFs, my manager (a VP - I was M5), FREAKED out - going on and on about losing his job, polishing up his resume, etc. etc.

I realized then that he wouldn't hesitate to put me on the list to save himself, which is what happened. I have no idea the impact of the rest of his team, but I suspect that because I was new to that team, they went with last in, first out. Everyone else had worked for him for a number of years.

None of them know what I did despite trying to share the load - I still gave updates to my previous manager. New manager literally did not give a shit, and his team was the least welcoming group I've ever worked with.

It's easier to lay blame on one person, right or wrong, and I blame him.

I wish him discomfort every day of his life moving forward, and that he never knows a moment's peace.

I will be fine. I'm so, so sad. But I'll be fine.

Also, sidebar: I always kind of vaguely understood that Larry Ellison was not a good guy. But recent months have driven home what a truly bad person he is.