Visa is eliminating about 2,600 jobs worldwide, roughly 7% of its workforce, as the payments giant restructures around its AI strategy. The company announced the global headcount reduction on July 28, with CEO Ryan McInerney describing the shift toward what he called the era of "agentic AI."
The majority of the eliminated roles are in technology and product teams, McInerney said. The cuts affect employees across multiple markets and extend from engineering positions to senior management.
"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," McInerney reportedly told employees.
Visa is moving beyond AI assistance toward systems that execute work and tasks under human supervision. "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," McInerney said.
McInerney also said agentic commerce - AI systems performing tasks on behalf of consumers under defined controls - could grow Visa's addressable market and contribute to the company's future growth. The technology falls into the broader category of AI agents and automation.
Layoffs reach senior engineers and executives
Visa's restructuring is not limited to junior and mid-level positions. A workforce reduction notice filed in California shows the company is eliminating 320 positions at its Foster City headquarters.
The affected roles include six vice presidents, 37 senior directors, and 16 chief engineering and architect positions. Senior software engineers, researchers, and other experienced technical employees are also among those affected.
Those ranks include some of the company's highest-paid roles. Vice president positions at Visa's Foster City office had salary ranges of $235,700 to $458,000 before bonuses or sales incentives, according to LinkedIn job listings cited in reports.
Visa has not publicly disclosed a full breakdown of the global restructuring by country or function.
AI reshapes jobs across fintech
Visa's workforce reduction comes amid a broader push by financial and technology companies to integrate AI into operations, product development, and customer services. The company has been investing heavily in AI and identifies agentic commerce as a potential growth area.
The latest layoffs show that AI-driven transformation can reach experienced technical and management roles, not just routine jobs. Organizations are redesigning their structures and redirecting investment toward emerging capabilities as they balance efficiency with new business models.
Why this matters for Executives & Strategy
Visa's announcement shows that AI-driven restructuring now reaches the most senior technical and management roles, not just process-level jobs. The Foster City filing alone includes 37 senior directors and 16 chief engineering and architect positions. These are not peripheral roles being trimmed; they are the layers of an organization being rebuilt around a different operating model.
For executives, the move signals that AI strategy decisions will increasingly determine workforce composition and compensation structures. Companies planning their own AI roadmaps can expect similar trade-offs between automation investment and headcount. Executives can explore AI for Executives & Strategy resources to see how other organizations are approaching these restructuring decisions.
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