Visa said it will eliminate roughly 2,600 jobs, about 7% of its global workforce of 34,100 employees as of the last fiscal year, primarily affecting the technology and product teams [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. CEO Ryan McInerney announced the layoffs on July 28, stating the cuts are part of efforts to improve company efficiency in a competitive payments market. "I have deep conviction that we are doing what is right for Visa, our clients and our partners as we continue to focus on driving efficiency across the company," McInerney said [1].
The layoffs come as Visa invests savings into key growth areas such as consumer payments, commercial and money-movement solutions, and value-added services including stablecoins, cross-border payments, and B2B offerings [1, 2, 4, 5]. McInerney noted that AI technologies have helped accelerate product development and reduce repetitive work but were not the sole reason for the cuts. "AI is also helping to accelerate this evolution and shape the way work gets done at Visa," he said [5].
McInerney said Visa is entering a new era with strong momentum marked by "continued strong financial results, client satisfaction, employee engagement, and breakthrough innovation" [4]. Visa's shares had risen 2.1-2.2% in pre-market trading on July 28 before the layoffs announcement and earnings report [1, 6, 7].
Visa plans to report its quarterly earnings after the US market close on July 28, the same day the layoffs were announced, with impacted employees contacted for transition assistance starting that day [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. Peer companies Mastercard and Block have also announced workforce cuts recently, with Mastercard trimming about 4% and Block nearly 50% of its staff [1, 2, 3, 8].
Visa’s job reductions reflect broader industry pressures to adapt and invest in new payment technologies. The company aims to reshape operations to capture future opportunities in commerce while maintaining strong financial health and client relationships. The next key update will come with Visa’s quarterly earnings announcement later today.
