Oracle CFO Hilary Maxson addresses layoffs at first company meeting

Oracle CFO Hilary Maxson addresses layoffs at first company meeting

Wed, September 16, 2026 at 3:03 PM GMT+3 2 min read

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Oracle Chief Financial Officer Hilary Maxson told employees on Tuesday that the company's latest round of layoffs should not be understood as a directive to do more with fewer resources, according to Business Insider, which reviewed a recording of the remarks.

"I don't mean doing more with less, which is a phrase that I really, really don't like," Maxson said. "It means simplifying processes that don't help customers and making clear choices on where we're going to use our resources where they have the greatest impact."

The comments came during Maxson's first companywide meeting since joining Oracle, held one day after the company began a new round of job cuts. According to Business Insider, the layoffs went unmentioned by Maxson and the other executives who spoke during the roughly hour-long town hall. Instead, executives focused on growth, customer demand, and artificial intelligence.

Co-CEO Mike Sicilia used the meeting to offer employees a mantra for the quarter. "I'd ask you to keep asking a very simple question: How does the work that I'm doing help deliver a better outcome for a customer?" Sicilia said. "There's a lot of change around this, a lot going on in the world, and in moments like this, how we work together and how we show up for our customers and for each other matters most."

The latest cuts follow a significant reduction in Oracle's workforce over the past year. According to a regulatory filing, Oracle shed approximately 21,000 positions — representing about 13% of its workforce — across the fiscal year that closed on May 31, 2026.

The tension Maxson addressed — investing in AI infrastructure while controlling costs — reflects a broader challenge Oracle is navigating. Oracle expanded its 2026 Restructuring Plan by approximately $700 million, bringing the total estimated cost to roughly $2.8 billion. The company recorded roughly $2.1 billion in charges against the plan through August 31. Oracle cited the cuts in part as a response to how it is deploying AI across parts of its business.

Oracle's capital spending has risen sharply to support its data center buildout. Cash used for capital expenditures reached $28.5 billion in the quarter ended August 31, up from $8.5 billion a year earlier, the company said. Oracle has kept its capital expenditure outlook for fiscal 2027 unchanged, projecting spending of $90 billion to $95 billion.

A person familiar with the matter told Business Insider that trimming headcount is part of how Oracle plans to manage the financial pressure created by its infrastructure spending.

Maxson, who previously served as executive vice president and group chief financial officer at Schneider Electric, joined Oracle earlier this year.