Visa cuts 2,600 jobs globally as AI push reaches senior ranks

Visa ↗ 2.76% is eliminating approximately 2,600 positions, or 7% of its global workforce, in a sweeping restructuring that has reached the company's most senior technical and executive ranks as the payments giant accelerates its pivot toward artificial intelligence.

Senior Leaders Not Spared

A WARN notice filed on July 31 with California's Employment Development Department revealed 320 layoffs at Visa's Foster City campus, scheduled to take effect Oct. 1. The filing shows the cuts span multiple business functions, with six vice presidents, 37 senior directors, and 16 chief engineering and architect positions among those eliminated. Dozens of senior software engineers, researchers, and other technical professionals were also affected.sfgate+1

The roles carry substantial compensation. According to SFGATE, citing LinkedIn job postings, vice president positions at the Foster City office advertised salaries between $235,700 and $458,000, excluding bonuses.sfgate

The cuts come despite strong financial performance. Visa reported $11.6 billion in fiscal third-quarter revenue, up 14% from a year earlier, and net income of $5.6 billion.sfchronicle

India Operations Hit Hard

The restructuring has extended well beyond the United States. Business Standard reported on Aug. 5 that about 500 employees at Visa's Bengaluru technology centre have been laid off, representing 14% of its roughly 3,500-person India workforce. The affected roles were mostly in product and technology teams. Some employees received termination emails between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. on July 29, before the start of the working day.business-standard+1

AI Investment Drives the Restructuring

CEO Ryan McInerney has framed the cuts as part of a broader transformation. "To capture the opportunities ahead and best position Visa to lead this transformation, we must continue evolving how we work," McInerney wrote in an internal memo reported by Bloomberg. "AI is also helping to accelerate this evolution and shape the way work gets done at Visa."sfgate

Days after the WARN filing, Visa announced its $2.4 billion cash acquisition of BioCatch, an Israeli company that uses behavioral biometric signals to detect fraud in real time.sfgate

Visa's moves mirror a broader pattern across fintech. Mastercard ↗ 2.50% has cut about 1,400 jobs, PayPal ↗ 0.93% eliminated 4,800, Block ↗ 2.67% cut 4,000, and Intuit ↘ 0.37% reduced headcount by 3,000 — all citing AI-driven efficiency gains. Block CEO Jack Dorsey warned in February that tech workers should expect employers to make room for AI.business-standard+1

The inclusion of vice presidents and engineering leaders in Visa's latest cuts suggests AI-driven restructuring is no longer confined to entry-level and support functions — it is reshaping the upper tiers of corporate hierarchies across the financial technology sector.