Oracle, the American multinational software company, has axed hundreds of jobs in its health unit. It has also withdrawn several job offers and cut back vacancies as per an Insider report.
It is pertinent to mention here that employees had not received any promotions or increments this year and had also been told that they shouldn’t expect any hikes either. In May 2023, more than 3,000 employees had been laid off from Cerner, the health unit of Oracle, which is an electronic medical records firm that was acquired by Oracle for $28.3 billion in December 2023. Employees across the marketing, engineering, accounting, legal, and product teams were impacted then.
Oracle had acquired Cerner with the aim of trying to replace the time spent by clinicians in performing administrative tasks with more detailed interactions with patients, so that the quality of care can be immensely improved.
Cerner had managed to obtain contracts with the US Department of Veterans Affairs Office for the maintenance and improvement of the electronic systems that stored and managed patient data and health information. However, the partnership was marred by technical issues, which adversely affected many patients. This is said to be the primary reason for the present round of layoffs and withdrawal / cancellation of job offers.
Those laid off will be paid severance in the form of four weeks of pay, as well as an additional week of pay for every year they have served the firm. They will also be eligible for payout for vacation days.
