Oracle is weighing 20,000 to 30,000 job cuts and a potential sale of its $28.3 billion Cerner health-care unit to free up $8-10 billion for AI data-center expansion, as US banks pull back from financing the company's massive infrastructure buildout. The moves come as Oracle faces a $156 billion capital expenditure requirement for its AI ambitions.

Multiple US banks have doubled interest rate premiums on Oracle data-center project financing since September, pushing borrowing costs to non-investment grade levels. This has stalled deals and prevented Oracle from securing needed capacity through leases with private operators. Without financing, operators can't build the facilities Oracle needs, creating a bottleneck in the company's infrastructure rollout.

Oracle has already raised $58 billion in debt markets but that's only a fraction of what's needed. The company is pursuing alternatives including requiring 40% upfront deposits from customers and exploring 'bring your own chip' arrangements. Analysts warn enterprises should treat Oracle cloud contracts as 'shared infrastructure risk' given the company's financing challenges.