Oracle co-founder and chairman Larry Ellison has ignited a fierce online debate with his bold statement on AI now writing much of the company’s code, which leads to a lesser demand for traditional software engineers. The video clip, which emerges from Oracle’s recent earnings call, has gone viral just as the company lays off thousands of employees to fund its aggressive AI infrastructure push.
In the statement, Ellison stated, “The code that Oracle is writing, Oracle isn’t writing. Our AI models are writing.” He explained further that instead of engineers manually coding line by line, teams now simply describe the desired outcome to Oracle’s AI models, which generate the step-by-step logic and implementation. This shift in generating code, according to Ellison, allows the company to build complex SaaS products with significantly smaller development teams, leading to lower costs.
AI for efficiency or job cuts?
Reports state that Oracle has begun notifying thousands of employees globally of their layoffs via early-morning emails, with estimates suggesting the cuts could affect 20,000 to 30,000 roles — potentially up to 18% of its workforce. The restructuring is said to be tied to rising costs for building AI data centers and expanding cloud infrastructure. The company has been setting aside hundreds of millions of dollars for severance and related expenses.
During the Q3 2026 earnings discussion, Ellison highlighted how advanced AI coding tools have dramatically improved productivity, enabling Oracle to deliver more with fewer people. He framed AI not just as a productivity booster but as a competitive advantage, letting Oracle move faster than rivals still relying on traditional development methods.
Oracle’s cloud revenue grew 44% in the quarter, driven largely by AI-related deals, while the company continues heavy capital expenditure on data centers to support its growing AI ambitions.
What happens to software engineers
Some software engineers expressed concern that their roles are becoming obsolete, while others noted that AI is changing the nature of coding. The focus now shifts from writing syntax to high-level system design, intent definition, and output verification. The video clip claims that AI can now handle 50–90% of the coding process in certain cases. Many other tech firms and leaders have emphasised that engineers now need to rely on AI tools to expand their capabilities for furthering their productivity.
Oracle has not officially confirmed the exact number of layoffs, but the move aligns with its massive AI buildout. Oracle has plans that could involve billions of infrastructure investment.