Visa has expanded its latest round of layoffs beyond junior and mid-level roles, cutting vice presidents, senior directors and engineering leaders as part of a broader workforce overhaul linked to its artificial intelligence strategy.
A WARN notice filed on July 31 revealed 320 job cuts at the company's Foster City, California, campus. The filing shows the reductions affected senior leadership alongside technical teams, reflecting how AI-driven restructuring is reaching roles traditionally viewed as less vulnerable to workforce reductions.
The Bay Area layoffs form part of Visa's previously announced plan to reduce around 7% of its global workforce, affecting approximately 2,600 employees, according to Bloomberg. A Visa spokesperson confirmed Bloomberg's reporting to SFGATE but declined to comment on the details of the Foster City layoffs.
Leadership and engineering teams among those affected
The WARN filing highlights the breadth of the workforce reduction, extending across management, engineering and research functions.
According to the filing, the affected roles include:
- Six vice presidents
- Thirty-seven senior directors
- Sixteen chief engineering and architect positions
- Dozens of senior software engineering, research and technical roles
The layoffs also affected employees in highly compensated positions. According to LinkedIn job postings cited by SFGATE, vice president roles at Visa's Foster City office advertised salaries ranging from $235,700 to $458,000, excluding potential sales incentive payments.
Layoffs come alongside AI investment
The workforce reductions arrived just days before Visa announced its $2.4 billion cash acquisition of BioCatch, an Israeli company specialising in AI-powered fraud detection.
In a joint announcement, the companies said BioCatch uses behavioural biometric signals, including keystrokes and touch gestures, to identify fraudulent activity in real time.
Explaining the rationale behind the investment, Visa said AI, biometrics, authentication, identity, cyber defence and fraud prevention are becoming increasingly interconnected, with the company investing to strengthen both its own network and customer protection capabilities.
The timing of the acquisition and layoffs highlights how major technology investments and workforce restructuring are increasingly occurring in parallel across the financial services sector.
AI strategy reshapes the organisation
According to Bloomberg, Chief Executive Officer Ryan McInerney has been driving a broader transformation aimed at embedding AI more deeply across Visa's operations.
In an internal memo cited by Bloomberg, McInerney said the company must continue evolving its operating model to remain competitive.
He said AI is accelerating this evolution and reshaping how work is carried out across the organisation.
While Visa has not publicly linked individual job cuts directly to automation, reports from Bloomberg indicate the restructuring is part of a wider effort to improve efficiency while expanding AI adoption.
India employees also affected
The global restructuring has also reached India.
According to Livemint, several Visa employees in India received layoff emails from the company's human resources team in the early hours of July 29, informing them their positions had been eliminated before the start of the working day.
India Today reported the global workforce reduction was announced on July 28, with McInerney telling employees the company was reshaping its workforce to prepare for the next phase of AI adoption.
Neither Visa nor the reports specified how many India-based employees were affected.
Part of a wider fintech trend
Visa's restructuring mirrors a broader pattern emerging across the financial technology industry, where companies are balancing AI investments with cost reduction and operational redesign.
According to SFGATE, the latest layoffs follow similar workforce reductions at Block, Mastercard and PayPal this year.
The publication also noted comments made earlier this year by Block CEO Jack Dorsey, who said technology professionals should expect employers to create room for AI as companies rethink workforce requirements.
AI is changing who gets affected
Recent technology layoffs have often centred on entry-level or support functions. Visa's latest restructuring suggests the impact is extending further up the organisational hierarchy.
The inclusion of vice presidents, senior directors and engineering leaders indicates companies are reviewing leadership structures and specialist roles alongside broader operational changes as AI becomes more deeply integrated into business processes.
As financial institutions continue investing in AI capabilities, workforce redesign is increasingly becoming part of long-term transformation strategies rather than a short-term cost-cutting exercise.