Visa is cutting about 2,600 jobs - roughly 7% of its 34,000-plus global workforce - with CEO Ryan McInerney pointing to artificial intelligence as the driver behind the restructuring. The layoffs, concentrated in technology and product operations, began rolling out Tuesday, July 28, and represent the latest in a wave of AI-attributed cuts that have made the reason the top-cited cause of U.S. job losses for three consecutive months.
U.S. employers disclosed more than 97,000 job cuts in May, a 16% jump from the prior month and the highest May total since the pandemic-driven layoffs of 2020, according to data from Challenger, Gray, & Christmas. The tech sector accounted for more than a third of those cuts, with 123,653 positions eliminated through the first five months of the year - a 66% increase year over year.
Visa's cuts target technology and product operations
Affected workers were contacted starting July 28 and given details on next steps and transition assistance, a source told CNBC. "To capture the opportunities ahead and best position Visa to lead this transformation, we must continue evolving how we work," McInerney wrote in the memo. "AI is also helping to accelerate this evolution and shape the way work gets done at Visa."
AI was not the only factor. The company is also directing investment toward growth areas including affluent customers, cross-border activity, business payments, stablecoins, and geographic expansion. Visa shares traded 1.7% higher on July 28 ahead of the company's earnings release.
AI now the leading reason for U.S. job cuts
The 38,579 AI-related job cuts recorded in May were the highest monthly total since Challenger began tracking the category in 2023. AI accounted for 40% of all job cuts announced that month, up from just 7% in January, 25% in March, and 26% in April. So far in 2026, employers have attributed 87,714 job cuts to AI - 22% of the total - already exceeding the 54,836 attributed to the reason for all of last year.
"The labor market is being reshaped by technology in real time. AI is now the leading reason companies give for cutting jobs, and the primary industry citing it is Technology," said Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray, & Christmas. "Technology, already the year's biggest job cutter, saw its steepest month of cuts since early 2023, even as it remains the sector with the most hiring plans this year."
Challenger also noted a jump in bankruptcy-related losses, which he said signals aggressive corporate restructuring as firms reposition for an AI-driven economy. Yet he tempered the alarm: "AI isn't yet the jobpocalypse some predicted. Like spreadsheets and email before it, the technology will ultimately make workers more productive, but our data shows companies are already acting on it, citing AI for more cuts than any other reason. The open question isn't whether AI changes the workforce, but how fast."
Why this matters for finance professionals
Visa's cuts are a concrete signal for the broader financial services sector. The company is reducing headcount in technology and product operations while simultaneously channeling resources into specific growth bets: stablecoins, cross-border payments, business payments, and affluent customer segments. The pattern is not blanket cost-cutting - it is a reallocation of capital and talent toward areas where AI automates existing work and where new revenue opportunities exist.
For finance professionals, the takeaway is specific. Roles tied to routine technology operations and product maintenance are facing direct pressure from automation. At the same time, demand is growing in areas that require understanding of digital assets, cross-border infrastructure, and high-value client segments. Professionals who pair finance expertise with AI skills can position themselves on the investment side of that equation rather than the cost-cutting side. The May data shows that hiring plans in technology remain strong - the cuts and the hiring are happening inside the same industry, often at the same companies.
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