Visa is cutting 7% of its global workforce in a move that will affect around 2,600 employees. The layoffs will primarily affect the tech and product teams as the payments processor seeks to improve efficiency.
"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,” CEO Ryan McInerney wrote in a staff memo, excerpts from which were confirmed by the company spokesperson.
“Entire team laid off”
As Visa began communicating the job cuts to employees in India, a former employee claimed on social media that the team he had worked with had been laid off.
“My entire team at Visa just got laid off including my manager,” Arnab Das said on the social media platform X.
Das revealed that his former manager at Visa had received outstanding performance reviews in every cycle. Despite this, he was laid off in Bengaluru.
“The guy had end-to-end ownership of the product, outstanding performance reviews every cycle, and was probably the last person you’d expect to be let go,” he wrote.
{{/usCountry}}“The guy had end-to-end ownership of the product, outstanding performance reviews every cycle, and was probably the last person you’d expect to be let go,” he wrote.
{{/usCountry}}Das ended his post by saying he was shocked at the layoffs, but acknowledged that at the same time, he felt lucky that he had left Visa earlier. “Feeling shocked. And strangely lucky that I left Visa,” the former employee said.
In the comments section of his post, several X users pointed out that performance usually has very little to do with layoffs.
“Layoffs have literally nothing to do with performance. When it comes down to cost cutting, 1st they look for redundant roles and then they target fat paychecks employees,” wrote one person.
“It's a complete blood bath, everyone is so anxious. Don’t know what to do and what not to do as well. Can’t focus on work, I don’t know how they expect people to work under such circumstances,” a Visa employee revealed.
(Also read: NRI forced to leave US after his entire project gets moved to India team: ‘The irony!’)
Layoffs at Visa
Visa CEO Ryan McInerney said Visa must keep evolving the way it operates to seize growth opportunities and stay ahead of industry changes, with AI playing a key role in accelerating that shift.
AI has helped cut repetitive tasks and speed up product development, but it was not the sole factor behind the decision, according to Bloomberg News, which first reported the cuts, citing a person familiar with the company's reasoning.
According to the company's annual report for 2025, Visa had about 34,100 employees in fiscal 2025, up 8% year over year.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Google Trends
Though the term "Visa layoffs 2026" was not a top-trending keyword on Google, it saw searches from Karnataka and California. Another related keyword that people Googled was "Visa Inc layoffs 2026".