U.S. payments company Visa plans to cut about 7% of its workforce, or roughly 2,600 jobs. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The cuts will primarily affect technology and product divisions. Visa explained the decision as part of efforts to boost efficiency and reallocate resources to the most promising areas.
"I am deeply convinced that we are doing the right thing for Visa, our clients and partners, continuing to focus on improving the efficiency of the entire company in order to reinvest in the most promising projects," Visa CEO Ryan McInerney wrote in a memo to employees.
According to McInerney, the company must constantly improve its working methods to seize new growth opportunities and adapt faster to changes in the payments industry.
He cited artificial intelligence as one of the key drivers of these changes. The technology is already helping Visa automate routine tasks and accelerate product development.
However, AI was not the sole reason for the job cuts. The company is also reviewing expenses and reallocating resources to areas with higher growth and profitability potential.
The layoffs at Visa are another example of how large companies are turning investments in artificial intelligence into changes in workforce structure. This raises concerns that technology development could lead to job losses despite productivity gains.
At the end of fiscal 2025, Visa employed about 34,100 people, up 8% from a year earlier.
Analysts at Evercore ISI do not view the upcoming cuts as a significant negative event for the company.
"We do not view this as a material event, as this is one of the most efficiently managed companies in the world, adjusting headcount and expenses and reallocating funds and resources to areas with higher growth and profitability," the analysts wrote in a note.
Earlier, other major financial market players also announced layoffs. Mastercard planned to reduce its global workforce by about 4%, and fintech company Block reported cutting about 4,000 employees.