Visa to cut 2,600 jobs; technology and product teams to be hit the hardest

Visa will cut about 2,600 jobs, or around 7% of its global workforce, as the payments giant looks to improve efficiency and redirect resources towards higher-growth opportunities.

The layoffs will primarily affect the company's technology and product teams and come as businesses increasingly reshape their workforce while expanding the use of artificial intelligence (AI), reported news agency Reuters.

The job cuts were confirmed by a Visa spokesperson nearly six months after rival Mastercard announced its own round of layoffs, highlighting a broader trend across the payments and fintech industry.

WHY IS VISA CUTTING JOBS?

In a memo to employees, Visa Chief Executive Officer Ryan McInerney said the company needs to continue evolving to stay ahead of changes in the payments industry.

"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 in order to reinvest in our highest potential opportunities," McInerney wrote in the memo.

He added that Visa must continue changing the way it operates to seize future growth opportunities, with AI playing an important role in accelerating that transformation.

However, AI was not the only reason behind the layoffs. Bloomberg News, which first reported the job cuts, said the technology has helped reduce repetitive work and speed up product development, but was only one of several factors behind the restructuring.

According to Visa's 2025 annual report, the company employed about 34,100 people at the end of fiscal 2025, an increase of 8% from the previous year.

PART OF A WIDER INDUSTRY TREND

Visa is not the only financial services company trimming its workforce this year.

Earlier in 2026, Mastercard announced plans to cut about 4% of its global workforce as it shifted investments to different business priorities. Fintech company Block also said in February that it would eliminate around 4,000 jobs, nearly half of its workforce.

The latest move by Visa underscores how companies are increasingly looking to improve efficiency while investing more heavily in AI and other growth areas, even as concerns grow over the technology's impact on jobs.

STRONG BUSINESS DESPITE LAYOFFS

The layoffs come just ahead of Visa's quarterly earnings announcement.

The world's largest payments processor has beaten Wall Street's earnings expectations in all but one quarter over the past two years, demonstrating the resilience of its business model.

Consumer spending also remained strong during the second quarter of 2026, a positive sign for Visa, whose revenues depend on transaction volumes rather than lending. That allows the company to remain relatively insulated from credit risk and economic slowdowns compared with traditional financial institutions.

"As a result of the choices we have made over the past few years, we are entering a new era in commerce with a business that has real momentum," McInerney said in the memo.

Analysts at Evercore ISI also played down the significance of the layoffs.

"We don't view this as a material event, as it is just one of the best-run companies in the world tweaking headcount and costs and reallocating money and resources into areas of higher growth and returns," the brokerage said in a note.

Investors appeared largely unfazed by the announcement.

Visa's shares rose about 1% in early trading, taking the company's market capitalisation to more than $683 billion, according to LSEG data. The stock has gained just over 3% so far this year, underperforming the broader market but outperforming rival Mastercard.