Visa to eliminate 7% of workforce as CEO pushes efficiency plan: Report

Visa is reducing its workforce by about 2,600 employees, or roughly 7%, in an effort to improve operational efficiency as competition in digital payments intensifies. CEO Ryan McInerney said in a company memo obtained by Bloomberg that the layoffs would largely affect the technology and product teams. Visa employed about 34,100 people at the close of its last fiscal year. McInerney said the company is reshaping how it operates to better position itself for future growth, arguing that greater efficiency will enable Visa to reinvest in higher-potential businesses. He noted that AI is accelerating software development and changing how employees work, although it is said that the technology was not the sole reason for the job reductions. Visa plans to reinvest in key strategic areas, including consumer payments, commercial and money movement solutions, and value-added services such as stablecoins, cross-border payments and business-to-business products. The layoffs were announced ahead of the company’s quarterly earnings release, with McInerney saying Visa is entering a new phase of growth driven by strong financial performance, customer satisfaction and faster product development. Vis...