The cuts come as the software giant invests billions of dollars in expanding its artificial intelligence infrastructure.

As thousands of Oracle employees awoke on Tuesday to an email informing them they were being laid off, the workers likely didn’t know the tech company had been busy trying to hire foreign staff. According to U.

Oracle has not confirmed how many employees are affected. But investment bank TD Cowen estimates the cuts could total between 20,000 and 30,000 workers—roughly 18 percent of its global workforce of about 162,000—according to the Next Web.

Wall Street is telling investors that Oracle's future is bleak, but it may not be as troubled as some investors fear.

Weeks after predictions about coming layoffs at HR tech giant Oracle, the company laid off thousands this week in an early morning email.

Severance includes 4 weeks base salary plus 1 week per year of employment.