Oracle layoffs reach 'flagship' data center that it shows as proof OpenAI deal is fine
Oracle has conducted significant layoffs affecting its flagship Stargate data center in Abilene, Texas, despite previously citing the site as proof of its successful OpenAI partnership. Employees reported being locked out of internal systems before receiving formal notification of their termination.
Why it matters
The layoffs at a high-profile facility raise questions about the stability of Oracle's cloud infrastructure strategy and its high-stakes partnership with OpenAI.
Oracle's layoffs on September 14 reached Abilene, Texas, the site the company has spent months holding up as evidence that its OpenAI partnership is on track. One employee there, an IC2 in OCI who says he joined on February 2, described the morning on r/employeesOfOracle: the termination email arrived at 5am Central, he did not see it, and he only realised what had happened when his badge failed at the gate. His Slack was already locked. His last performance review had been "meets expectations". Another poster in the same thread said Customer Hardware Support was cut at Abilene, Phoenix and Ashburn.Abilene is not an incidental site. It is the flagship Stargate campus, the one Oracle cites when it talks about 200MW of operational capacity and an eight-building build running on schedule.
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