Visa’s latest wave of artificial intelligence-driven layoffs has impacted far more than entry-level and mid-career employees. The payments giant’s restructuring exercise, which affects nearly 2,600 employees globally, has also claimed the jobs of several senior executives and experienced technology professionals as the company accelerates its AI-led transformation.
Many employees reportedly woke up in the early hours of July 29 to emails from the human resources department informing them that their positions had been eliminated as Visa reshapes its workforce around artificial intelligence initiatives.
A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing submitted in California on July 31 reveals that 320 employees at Visa’s Foster City headquarters will lose their jobs. The filing shows that the cuts are spread across multiple business divisions instead of being limited to a single team.
The layoffs include six vice presidents, 37 senior directors and 16 chief engineering and architect positions. In addition, several senior software engineers, researchers and other experienced technical professionals have also been affected, indicating that the restructuring extends across both leadership and engineering functions.
According to a report by SFGATE, LinkedIn job listings published about three months ago showed Visa advertising vice president positions at its Foster City office with annual salaries ranging from $235,700 to $458,000 (Rs 2.24 crore to Rs 4.36 crore).
Bloomberg had previously reported that Visa intended to reduce roughly 7 per cent of its global workforce. The company confirmed the overall figure to SFGATE but did not comment on the specifics of the California layoffs.
CEO Explains Why AI Is Reshaping Visa’s Workforce
Visa Chief Executive Officer Ryan McInerney said the workforce reduction is part of the company’s broader strategy to improve operational efficiency as artificial intelligence becomes more deeply integrated into its business.
Speaking during the company’s earnings call on July 28, McInerney highlighted how AI is transforming the nature of work across the organisation.
“Today, we announced that we are eliminating roles, with the majority being in our technology and product teams, to ensure that we are continuing to position Visa for future growth,” the CEO said. “Now, as we enter the era of agentic AI, we are going beyond AI assistance and harnessing the power of AI to execute work and tasks with our supervision.”
Visa Bets Big On Agentic Commerce
Visa believes the next phase of AI adoption will be driven by “agentic commerce,” where autonomous AI systems can independently research products, compare prices, negotiate deals and complete purchases on behalf of consumers with human oversight.
The company sees this emerging technology as a major growth opportunity that could expand its payments ecosystem in the years ahead.
While Visa has not disclosed how many of the eliminated positions are based in India, the country remains the company’s largest technology hub outside the United States. In 2024, Visa said it employed more than 3,500 people in India, although it has not provided an updated figure since then.
Despite the latest job cuts, Visa’s overall workforce had expanded by around 8 per cent during fiscal 2025 to approximately 34,100 employees. The restructuring reflects a broader trend across the technology industry, where companies are reorganising teams and investing heavily in artificial intelligence to improve efficiency and prepare for the next phase of digital innovation.