Will AI Take More Jobs? Global Payment Giant Visa Cuts 2,600 Employees, Redirecting Resources to 'High-Yield Areas'

Visa, the world’s largest payment clearing company, has announced plans to cut approximately 7% of its employees—equating to around 2,600 people facing job losses. The departments most affected include technology and product operations. This downsizing is part of the current CEO Ryan McInerney’s broader organizational streamlining initiative.

According to CNBC, citing an internal employee memo they obtained, impacted employees will be notified progressively and will receive corresponding career transition support. The CEO emphasized that to seize future opportunities and keep Visa in the best possible position, "we must continue to evolve the way we work; AI is helping accelerate this evolution, reshaping how work gets done within Visa."

Redirecting Resources to High-Growth Areas As of the previous fiscal year, Visa had approximately 34,100 employees globally. While AI technology played a key role in this round of layoffs, insiders note it is not the sole factor. In reality, Visa aims to save existing resources and reallocate them to its most promising core areas, such as more precisely serving affluent customers, expanding cross-border payments, deepening B2B commercial payments, introducing stablecoin applications, and accelerating global expansion.

Visa developing its own stablecoin platform. (AP)

Visa, which operates at the intersection of finance and technology, has drawn significant attention from foreign media with this large-scale layoff announcement. This is seen as a timely trend: after aggressive hiring during the pandemic, many mid-to-large enterprises are now adopting AI technologies to automate technical tasks like software development, aiming to control operating costs and improve profit margins. As AI becomes more widespread and deeply integrated, both industries continue to report workforce reductions.

Additionally, Visa is scheduled to release its latest quarterly financial report in the coming days. The market will closely monitor the company’s development trajectory post-restructuring and its future capital allocation blueprint.