Visa CEO Ryan McInerny is reportedly looking for ways to increase efficiency, and announced the elimination of some 2,600 jobs to find them.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the cuts represent roughly 7% of the workforce and will primarily affect the technology and product teams, McInerney said in a staff memo seen by Bloomberg.
“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,” he wrote, according to Bloomberg.
Visa had about 34,100 employees at the end of its last fiscal year, more than triple from a decade earlier, according to the report. Many of its fintech competitors have announced even deeper job cuts in recent months, including PayPal Holdings Inc. and Block Inc.
Visa shares rose 2.1% to $370 at 8:47 a.m. in pre-market trading Tuesday. The stock had gained 3.4% this year through Monday, trailing the 3.8% advance for the 76-company S&P 500 Financials Index, Bloomberg reported.
“To capture the opportunities ahead and best position Visa to lead this transformation, we must continue evolving how we work,” McInerney wrote. “AI is also helping to accelerate this evolution and shape the way work gets done at Visa.”
“As a result of the choices we have made over the past few years, we are entering a new era in commerce with a business that has real momentum,” McInerney said in the memo. “We see this in our continued strong financial results, client satisfaction, employee engagement, and breakthrough innovation as we build and ship products better and faster than ever before.”
