The layoffs will primarily target technology and product teams as the company restructures to reinvest in high-growth areas
Visa is eliminating roughly 2,600 positions, or about 7% of its total workforce, as Chief Executive Officer Ryan McInerney pushes to restructure the payments company for what he calls its "highest potential opportunities."
The cuts will fall primarily on technology and product teams, according to a staff memo McInerney sent on Tuesday. Visa had approximately 34,100 employees at the end of its most recent fiscal year, according to Bloomberg News, which first reported the layoffs on July 28, 2026.
"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.
AI is accelerating the shift, but it isn't the only driver
Artificial intelligence is playing a role in the transition. The technology has helped streamline routine tasks and speed up product development at Visa, though the company indicated AI wasn't the sole factor behind the decision.
"AI is also helping to accelerate this evolution and shape the way work gets done at Visa," McInerney wrote.
The capital freed up by the job cuts is expected to flow into consumer payments, commercial and money-movement solutions, and value-added services that span stablecoin, cross-border, and business-to-business products, Bloomberg reported.
The announcement extends a pattern of AI-driven tech job cuts that hit a two-year high earlier this year. Through the first half of 2026, U.S. employers announced 443,604 planned job cuts, with artificial intelligence remaining the leading cited reason for workforce reductions, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Payments and fintech rivals are making similar moves
Visa isn't alone. Earlier this year, Mastercard announced plans to cut 4% of its global workforce, citing the need to refocus investments. Block said in February it planned to shed roughly 4,000 positions, representing close to half of its total headcount. PayPal Holdings has also announced reductions.
The combination of strong financial performance and shrinking headcounts has become a recurring pattern in the 2026 restructuring cycle. Microsoft, Block, Meta, and Oracle have all announced major workforce reductions this year while reporting revenue growth, raising questions about whether efficiency-focused restructuring has become the default corporate playbook.
Visa's stock rose about 2.1% in premarket trading on Tuesday. The company is scheduled to report quarterly results after U.S. markets close the same day.
When Intuit slashed its workforce and signed AI partnership deals in May 2026, the company framed the restructuring as a bet on AI-powered growth. Visa's memo follows a similar playbook, with efficiency language echoing across the payments and fintech sector at a moment when the gap between what companies earn and how many people they employ continues to widen.
