Layoffs
Visa fires 2,600 employees worldwide, Indian staff shocked by early morning layoff emails
Global payments giant Visa has laid off around 2,600 employees, or about 7 percent of its global workforce, with several of those affected based in India.
According to a LiveMint report, employees in India received termination emails between 4 am and 5 am on July 29, catching many off guard and dealing a major blow to the affected workers.
The layoffs come as Visa accelerates the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) across its business operations.
On July 28, the San Francisco-headquartered company confirmed it was eliminating around 7 percent of its global workforce.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ryan McInerney reportedly told employees that the job cuts were aimed at improving efficiency and positioning the company for future growth.
"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 was quoted as saying by LiveMint.
Highlighting the company's AI strategy, he added:
"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 agentic commerce would expand Visa's addressable market and help drive the company's future growth.
Visa has not disclosed how many employees in India were affected by the latest round of layoffs.
The company has a significant presence in India, operating major technology and corporate hubs in Bengaluru and Mumbai, along with additional corporate offices in Chennai and Hyderabad.
According to LiveMint, one India-based team of 28 employees saw 10 members laid off.
Those who lost their jobs reportedly included a director with nearly two decades at the company, a senior director with 21 years of service, and several long-serving engineering managers.
Reports said the severance packages varied considerably, with employees receiving 15 to 30 days' notice, depending on their role and tenure.
"Some are getting a lot and some are getting less," one employee told LiveMint on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly.
Another employee, who retained their job but lost their manager in the restructuring, described the emotional impact of the layoffs.
"Seeing your colleagues' empty tables hurts a lot, and you can be the next any time," the employee said.
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