• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Exclusive

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

TechOracle

Oracle Cuts More Jobs in Its Hardware and Solaris Units

Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 5, 2017, 7:55 AM ET

Oracle has laid off what appears to be a significant number of employees working on its hardware and Solaris operating system efforts, according to anonymous posts on TheLayoff.com, the gist of which were confirmed to Fortune by former Oracle employees.

Both Oracle’s server and Solaris efforts emanated out of Sun Microsystems, a company Oracle acquired in 2010 for $7.4 billion. Before then Oracle had been a software company specializing in databases and financial applications, so jumping into computer servers and SPARC microprocessors—another Sun business—was a stretch. Solaris was Sun’s version of Unix, a powerful operating system that powered its servers.

Unofficial tallies on the The Layoff site and elsewhere put total of jobs cut at around 2,500, affecting the company’s Santa Clara and San Diego, Calif. offices, as well as people in Austin, Texas, Broomfield, Colo., Burlington, Mass., and India. Layoff notices went out the Friday before the long Labor Day weekend, according to tech news site The Register.

An Oracle (ORCL) spokesperson declined comment on this story.

In a blog post called The Sudden Death and Eternal Life of Solaris, former Sun executive Bryan Cantrill wrote that, based on his conversations with current Solaris team members, these cuts are “so deep as to be fatal: The core Solaris engineering organization lost on the order of 90% of its people, including essentially all management.”

https://twitter.com/drewfisher314/status/903804762373537793

Another former Sun executive tells Fortune the Layoff reports are accurate, based on his talks with affected employees.

Word of these cutbacks comes a week after Oracle said it is hiring 5,000 cloud-computing-related workers in the U.S. this year.

Oracle surprised many with its purchase of Sun, a long-time hardware partner. But Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison—who was then CEO—said Oracle would use Sun’s Sparc microprocessor and server business to build a software-hardware juggernaut in the mold of the IBM, of a generation before. IBM is a long-time Oracle rival.

But Oracle struggled with server sales from the get-go with hardware revenue falling quarter after quarter. This despite claims by Ellison and Oracle co-CEO Mark Hurd that by focusing on high-end (e.g. profitable) servers would pay off for the company, which would leave low-end server sales to the commodity providers of the world.

Related: Oracle Hardware Chief Will Now Lead its Cloud Effort

Last December, Oracle co-CEO Safra Catz said the company would take a hard look the hardware business. A month later, it trimmed an estimated 450 jobs, mostly from the hardware business.

Some Oracle watchers, already worried about the fate of server systems, saw last month’s resignation of John Fowler, Sun’s long-time hardware chief, as a bad omen. His departure was mentioned in a July 27, 2017 federal filing.

Legacy tech providers including Oracle, IBM, and HPE (HPE) have had to negotiate a tough transition in which more customers are weighing the use of massive public cloud data centers run by Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure to augment or even replace their own data centers.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily tech newsletter.

Customers going that route replace the servers they run in-house less often than in the past and may even stop expanding their own data centers. Worse, for the traditional server makers, the major cloud providers use servers of their own design rather than pricey brand-name servers like those Oracle pitches. Oracle runs its own public cloud entirely on its own hardware and software, so it is unlikely that it will cut its entire server unit.

Note: (September 5, 2017 11:29 a.m. EDT) This story was updated to add mention of John Fowler’s resignation from Oracle.

About the Author
Barb Darrow
By Barb Darrow
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell in Barcelona, Spain on March 2, 2026. (Photo: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
NewslettersFortune Tech
What to expect from a SpaceX IPO
By Andrew NuscaMay 18, 2026
1 hour ago
How a mom-and-pop car wash chain went from sticky notes to AI-powered operations that are upleveling every part of the company
AIAutomation
How a mom-and-pop car wash chain went from sticky notes to AI-powered operations that are upleveling every part of the company
By Sage LazzaroMay 18, 2026
2 hours ago
Outnumbered: At $4 billion ClickUp, a 3:1 agent-to-human ratio is rewiring work itself
AIAI agents
Outnumbered: At $4 billion ClickUp, a 3:1 agent-to-human ratio is rewiring work itself
By Sage LazzaroMay 18, 2026
2 hours ago
After AI stole his clients, one Big Tech ghostwriter is using AI to get them back
AIAutomation
After AI stole his clients, one Big Tech ghostwriter is using AI to get them back
By Sage LazzaroMay 18, 2026
2 hours ago
The smartphone’s days are numbered. Meet the device that could come next
AIsmartphones and mobile devices
The smartphone’s days are numbered. Meet the device that could come next
By Alyson ShontellMay 18, 2026
2 hours ago
Solo founders are using AI to do the work of entire teams—but going it alone has limits
AIEntrepreneurs
Solo founders are using AI to do the work of entire teams—but going it alone has limits
By Beatrice NolanMay 18, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI
AI
Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI
By Jake AngeloMay 16, 2026
2 days ago
The top foreign holders of U.S. debt may soon dump Treasury bonds and bring their money back home, potentially spiking borrowing costs
Economy
The top foreign holders of U.S. debt may soon dump Treasury bonds and bring their money back home, potentially spiking borrowing costs
By Jason MaMay 17, 2026
17 hours ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
6 days ago
'No one was coming to save me': How Reese Witherspoon built a $900 million company from a problem Hollywood wouldn't fix
Success
'No one was coming to save me': How Reese Witherspoon built a $900 million company from a problem Hollywood wouldn't fix
By Sydney LakeMay 17, 2026
23 hours ago
Former top Russian official admits the country is over Putin and can 'imagine a future without him' — even elites bail as Kremlin seizes their assets 
Politics
Former top Russian official admits the country is over Putin and can 'imagine a future without him' — even elites bail as Kremlin seizes their assets 
By Jason MaMay 16, 2026
2 days ago
SpaceX heads into a record-shattering IPO with the 'deepest moat that exists today' as investors vow to 'never bet against Elon'
Innovation
SpaceX heads into a record-shattering IPO with the 'deepest moat that exists today' as investors vow to 'never bet against Elon'
By Jason MaMay 16, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.