Visa layoffs: Thousands of jobs slashed at the payments giant as CEO memo points toward AI acceleration

Visa Inc. is laying off about 2,600 workers, or 7% of its workforce, as CEO Ryan McInerney cited AI-driven efficiency gains and a need to reinvest in areas such as commercial and money-movement solutions. The cuts primarily affect product and technology teams, with savings redirected to consumer payments, value-added services, and stablecoins.

Visa Inc. is preparing to lay off about 2,600 workers, or about 7% of its workforce, the payments processing giant confirmed with Fast Company . The cuts come as the company faces an ever-changing payments landscape, increasingly disrupted by smaller, nimbler fintech startups, and as it focuses more on AI https://www.fastcompany.com/section/artificial-intelligence -driven efficiency gains. Here’s what you need to know. On Tuesday, media outlets including Bloomberg reported https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-28/visa-to-cut-7-of-workforce-as-ceo-seeks-to-revamp-payments-firm that Visa is getting ready to lay off about 2,600 workers. That represents about 7% of the company’s roughly 34,000-strong workforce. The cuts were first disclosed to Visa’s employees via a memo from CEO Ryan McInerney. Visa confirmed the layoffs and the accuracy of the memo’s excerpts to Fast Company . In the memo, McInerney said the layoffs would primarily affect the company’s product and technology teams, stating he has a “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.” Visa will use some of the savings from its layoffs to reinvest in commercial and money-movement solutions, consumer payments, and value-added services, including stablecoins, Bloomberg reported. In other words, the job cuts aren’t so much about cost-cutting as they are about freeing up capital to invest in other areas. AI was also a factor in the job reductions, McInerney confirmed in the memo. “To capture the opportunities ahead and best position Visa to lead this transformation, we must continue evolving how we work,” the CEO wrote. “AI is also helping to accelerate this evolution and shape the way work gets done at Visa.” When it comes to the payments and larger fintech industry, Visa is hardly alone in its workforce reductions. Back in January, Mastercard announced roughly 1,500 job cuts https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/mastercard-quarterly-profit-rises-as-consumers-continue-to-spend-33e82314 or about 4% of its workforce . Like Visa, Mastercard at the time cited the desire to free up its capital to reinvest in other, more strategic areas. In February, fintech startup Block announced 4,000 job cuts https://www.fastcompany.com/91499890/block-mass-layoffs-today-jack-dorsey-grim-prediction-ai-push amidst an AI push, and in May PayPal laid off around 4,700 employees https://www.fastcompany.com/91538995/tech-layoffs-due-to-ai-this-week-cloudflare-paypal-coinbase-upwork . It’s little surprise that Visa’s job cuts were confirmed today. After markets close this afternoon, Visa will report its third-quarter results for fiscal 2026. Investors usually react positively when corporations announce job cuts, as such cuts are often the fastest way to reduce operating costs—despite the heavy toll that they have on the company’s employees and families. As of the time of this writing, Visa Inc. NYSE: V stock is up less than 1% to nearly $365 per share. This represents about a 4.2% gain for the company’s stock price since 2026 began. Over the past 12 months, Visa shares are up about 2.8%.