Visa Cuts 2,600 Jobs in Technology Restructuring as CEO Cites AI Shift
Visa Cuts 2,600 Jobs in Technology Restructuring as CEO Cites AI Shift #
Visa has announced plans to eliminate approximately 2,600 positions, roughly 7% of its global workforce, with the cuts falling most heavily on the payments company’s technology and product divisions, the company confirmed on Tuesday, July 28.
Chief Executive Ryan McInerney disclosed the restructuring in a staff memo confirmed by CNBC and first reported by Bloomberg. McInerney described the move as a deliberate effort to drive efficiency and redirect capital toward the company’s highest-growth priorities, including affluent consumer payments, cross-border transactions, business remittances, stablecoins, and geographic expansion.
“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, according to excerpts reported by multiple outlets.
McInerney also cited artificial intelligence as a factor, telling employees that AI is “also helping to accelerate this evolution and shape the way work gets done at Visa” by reducing repetitive tasks and accelerating product development. However, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told CNBC that AI was a significant contributing factor but not the sole driver of the reductions.
Visa had approximately 34,100 employees at the end of its most recently reported fiscal year, according to Bloomberg. The company has not disclosed a geographic breakdown of the affected roles, severance terms, or a timeline for completing the cuts.
The announcement came on the same day Visa reported fiscal third-quarter 2026 earnings, posting net revenue of $11.6 billion, a 14% year-on-year increase, alongside GAAP net income of $5.6 billion. Visa shares rose roughly 2% in premarket trading ahead of the results.
Several payments peers have also reduced headcount in recent months. Mastercard announced plans to cut its global workforce by approximately 4% earlier this year, while Block shed close to 4,000 positions in February and PayPal has also announced reductions. Analysts have noted that payments companies are broadly reassessing staffing levels as AI tooling narrows the labour input required for technology development and operations.
Visa said it intends to reinvest the savings from the restructuring into what it described as its core pillars of consumer payments, commercial and money movement solutions, and value-added services.
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