Visa is cutting 7% of its workforce, or about 2,600 jobs. The layoffs will primarily affect technology and product departments. According to management, this decision should increase the company's efficiency in the face of increasing competition in the payment services market.
Visa is cutting 7% of its workforce, or about 2,600 jobs. The layoffs will primarily affect technology and product departments. According to management, this decision should increase the company's efficiency in the face of increasing competition in the payment services market.
“I am deeply convinced that we are doing the right thing for the future of Visa, our customers and partners. We continue to improve efficiency within the company to free up resources and reinvest them in the most promising areas,” CEO Ryan McInerney said in a memo to employees, obtained by Bloomberg.
Visa had about 34,100 employees at the end of its last fiscal year, more than triple the level it had a decade ago. Other fintech players, including PayPal Holdings Inc. and Block Inc., have reported even more significant layoffs in recent months.
“To seize new opportunities and ensure Visa leads this transformation, we must continue to change the way we work,” McInerney wrote. “Artificial intelligence is also helping to accelerate this evolution and is shaping new standards for how Visa works.”
While AI is used to reduce routine work and speed up product development, it was not the only reason for Visa's decision, according to a source familiar with the company's motives.
According to the source, Visa plans to reinvest funds in consumer payments, commercial solutions, and money transfers, as well as in additional services that include stablecoin, cross-border, and B2B offerings.
“Thanks to the decisions we have made over the past few years, we are entering a new era of commerce with a business at a remarkable pace,” McInerney said in the note. “We see this in our consistently strong financial results, customer satisfaction, employee engagement and breakthrough innovation, as we now create and launch products better and faster than ever before.”
