Global payments giant Visa has announced one of its biggest workforce reductions in recent years, eliminating around 2,600 jobs, or nearly 7% of its global workforce. According to the company's 2025 annual report, Visa employed around 34,100 people globally, representing an 8% increase from the previous year. The layoffs span multiple countries, including India, where technology and product teams are reportedly among the worst affected. As per Business Standard reports, about 500 employees at Visa's Bengaluru technology centre have been laid off, representing 14% of its workforce in India. This marks the first time Visa has undertaken such a large retrenchment programme in India since it opened the technology centre in 2015. The job cuts were announced in the wee hours of July 29, with several employees receiving emails from the human resources team informing them of their termination.
The layoffs extend well beyond junior and mid-level employees, affecting senior leadership positions at Visa's Foster City headquarters. A WARN notice filed on July 31 shows that Visa is laying off 320 employees at its Foster City headquarters, with the job cuts spanning multiple business functions. The filing reveals that the layoffs include six vice presidents, 37 senior directors, and 16 chief engineering and architect roles. According to SFGATE reports, LinkedIn job postings from three months ago showed that Visa was offering vice president roles at its Foster City office with annual salaries ranging from $235,700 to $458,000 (₹2.24 crore to ₹4.36 crore). The restructuring affects both leadership and engineering teams, with several senior software engineers, researchers and other experienced technical professionals also impacted. Employees were offered severance packages and notice periods of roughly 15 to 30 days, but for some, access to company systems was withdrawn within days, with laptops and ID cards also being returned.
CEO Ryan McInerney has repeatedly described AI as a key pillar of Visa's future, with the latest layoffs representing a strategic shift toward automation and efficiency. In a staff memo, McInerney wrote that "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." As per the company spokesperson, McInerney emphasised that Visa is going beyond AI assistance and harnessing the power of AI to execute work and tasks with supervision. The company is focusing on 'agentic AI', AI systems capable of performing tasks with minimal human intervention, rather than using AI only as a productivity tool for employees. As per Reuters reports, this represents an important shift where the question is no longer simply whether employees can use AI to do their work faster, but whether fewer employees will be needed to do the same amount of work. The company's management has increasingly highlighted AI as a key investment priority, with McInerney saying Visa must keep evolving the way it operates to seize growth opportunities and stay ahead of industry changes.
The India impact has emerged as one of the most striking parts of the restructuring, with Visa having more than 3,500 employees in India across technology and corporate hubs in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad. According to Business Standard reports, the roles made redundant were mostly in the product and technology teams as the US payments company looks to embrace artificial intelligence to improve productivity and efficiency. The layoffs primarily hit technology and product teams, with the cuts spanning multiple countries including India. The restructuring is part of a broader industry trend, with Mastercard announcing plans to cut around 4% of its global workforce as it redirected investments toward strategic priorities, and fintech company Block unveiling plans to eliminate about 4,000 jobs. As per Reuters, the entire payments industry is going through a similar reset, with Amazon announcing plans to eliminate around 16,000 corporate roles and Cloudflare planning to cut more than 1,100 jobs. The broader corporate world is moving in the same direction, with Atlassian announcing around 1,600 job cuts as it reshaped its workforce around AI.
Visa is not alone in reshaping its workforce. Earlier this year, Mastercard announced plans to cut around 4% of its global workforce as it redirected investments toward strategic priorities. Fintech company Block also unveiled plans to eliminate about 4,000 jobs as part of its own restructuring efforts. As companies automate software development, customer support and operational processes, they often require fewer workers to perform the same functions, reflecting a broader shift taking place across the technology and financial services industries. Speaking on the layoffs, Umesh Kothari, Assistant Dean and Assistant Professor at SP Jain School of Global Management, said, "The rapidly growing use of AI is changing the workplace from one organised around tasks to one increasingly organised around judgement, problem-solving and decision-making... In a workplace where technologies and roles will continue to evolve, the ability to learn, unlearn and apply knowledge in new contexts will ultimately become one of the strongest forms of career resilience."
