Visa reduces its workforce by 2,600 positions to finance stablecoins and business-to-business initiatives.

      Visa is eliminating around 2,600 positions, which constitutes about 7% of its workforce, primarily impacting the teams responsible for its technology development. The savings will be redirected towards payment methods that may eventually diminish the significance of traditional infrastructure.

      The payment network announced these job cuts in a memo from CEO Ryan McInerney, which Bloomberg first reported. The majority of the job losses will occur in technology and product areas. According to Visa, the savings will be reinvested in consumer payments, cross-border transactions, business payments, and stablecoins.

      AI is mentioned in the memo, but not held accountable. McInerney noted that “AI is also helping to accelerate this evolution and shape the way work gets done at Visa,” emphasizing that AI is assisting rather than making decisions.

      A source with direct knowledge shared with CNBC that while AI was an important contributor to the layoffs, it was not the sole reason. The technology is being leveraged to automate repetitive tasks and expedite product development, a narrative that has become common.

      Similar to Uber and Monday.com, both of which highlighted AI as a catalyst while avoiding complete blame, Visa's approach represents a trend seen in AI-era layoffs.

      The more telling aspect is the allocation of the saved funds. Visa is reducing the teams operating its card network and directing the savings toward stablecoins, cross-border transfers, and business payments, areas where the card network faces significant exposure. Stablecoins allow value transfer between parties without relying on card infrastructure, and agentic checkout could transform the traditional buyer-seller relationship.

      Visa is investing in these emerging areas while financing it with cuts to the personnel responsible for the systems that may eventually be replaced. This represents a strategic choice rather than a contradiction, as Visa aims to control the disruption rather than be circumvented by it. The nature of the cuts clearly indicates the company's belief in where the future lies.

      Visa is not acting in isolation or as a pioneer in these actions. PayPal has announced it will lay off 20% of its staff, while Block cut nearly 4,000 jobs, around half of its workforce, in February. Earlier this year, Mastercard reduced its workforce by 4%. Visa’s announcement comes about six months after its nearest competitor.

      It's also important to contextualize the scale of the job cuts. Visa's workforce had tripled over a decade to approximately 34,100 employees, so 2,600 positions represent a reduction rather than a drastic overhaul. Analysts from Evercore ISI described this move as “not a material event,” characterizing it as “one of the best-run companies in the world tweaking headcount.”

      The stock price increased following the news. Visa continues to benefit from transaction volume rather than credit risk, which provides some protection against economic downturns.

      What makes this situation significant is not merely the number of layoffs but the fact that a robust and insulated company is still letting go of engineers involved in developing its core products to pursue the next evolution. Reuters characterized the broader trend as companies beginning to convert investments in AI into workforce reductions, and Visa has now joined the ranks of the most profitable companies making such moves.