Ryan McInerney of Visa delivers the keynote speech at the Transact 15 conference on April 1, 2015 in San Francisco, California.
Noah Berger | Reuters
Visa, which operates the world’s largest payments network, plans to cut about 7% of its workforce as CEO Ryan McInerney streamlines the company and invests more in growth areas, according to a memo seen by CNBC.
The company plans to eliminate approximately 2,600 positions, primarily in technology and product operations, according to the memo. CNBC confirmed the contents of the memo, which was first reported by Bloomberg, with a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
Officials said affected employees will begin contacting them on Tuesday for next steps and transition assistance.
“To seize the opportunities ahead and put Visa in the best position to lead this transformation, we must continue to evolve the way we work,” McInerney wrote. “AI is accelerating this evolution and also helping shape the way we work at Visa.”
The job cuts come as companies in the financial and technology industries seek to contain costs after years of rapid hiring and increasingly use artificial intelligence to automate technical tasks such as software development. Visa had approximately 34,100 employees at the end of the previous fiscal year.
AI played a key role in the layoffs, but was not the only factor, said a person with direct knowledge of the changes, who asked not to be named.
Visa wants to invest more in what it sees as growth areas, including a focus on high-net-worth customers, cross-border activities, business payments, stablecoins and geographic expansion, the person said.
“As a result of the choices we have made over the past few years, we are entering a new era of commerce with a business with real momentum,” McInerney wrote, citing strong financial results and customer satisfaction.
Visa is scheduled to release its quarterly results after the market closes on Tuesday.
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