Visa to cut 7% of workforce as CEO seeks to revamp company
AI is 'helping to accelerate this evolution and shape the way work gets done at Visa,' McInerney says
Visa Inc. is eliminating about 2,600 jobs as Chief Executive Ryan McInerney seeks to make the firm more efficient as it competes in an increasingly tough payments industry.
The cuts amount to roughly 7% of the workforce and will primarily affect the technology and product teams, McInerney said Tuesday in a staff memo seen by Bloomberg.
“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,” he wrote.
Visa, which is set to report quarterly results after U.S. markets close Tuesday, had about 34,100 employees at the end of its last fiscal year, more than triple from a decade earlier. Many of its fintech competitors have announced even deeper job cuts in recent months, including PayPal Holdings Inc. and Block Inc.
Visa shares rose 2.1% to $370 at 8:47 a.m. in pre-market trading Tuesday. The stock had gained 3.4% this year through Monday, trailing the 3.8% advance for the 76-company S&P 500 Financials Index.
“To capture the opportunities ahead and best position Visa to lead this transformation, we must continue evolving how we work,” McInerney wrote. “AI is also helping to accelerate this evolution and shape the way work gets done at Visa.”
While AI is used to reduce repetitive work and accelerate product development, it wasn’t the only driver of Visa’s decision, according to a person with knowledge of the company’s reasoning.
Visa intends to reinvest in consumer payments, commercial and money-movement solutions and value-added services, which include stablecoin, cross-border and business-to-business offerings, the person said.
“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. “We see this in our continued strong financial results, client satisfaction, employee engagement, and breakthrough innovation as we build and ship products better and faster than ever before.”
