Another corporate giant is joining the global wave of layoffs, but this time too, the cuts are not coming against the backdrop of a business crisis. Visa announced that it will lay off about 2,600 employees, representing approximately 7% of its global workforce, primarily in technology and product teams. The announcement came alongside the publication of strong financial reports, in which the company beat analysts' expectations.
The move is part of a restructuring intended, according to the company, to make it more efficient and to direct resources to new growth opportunities. While Visa signaled artificial intelligence as one of the areas in which it intends to expand investment, it emphasized that AI is not the sole reason for the layoffs.
The employees affected by the cuts are expected to come mainly from the departments at the heart of the company’s technological shift. This is a particularly striking figure in an era where technology and product roles were considered for years to be the most stable and sought-after anchor in large companies.
Revenue Rose 14%
The layoff announcement was published while Visa continues to show growth in almost all major metrics. The company's revenue in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026 rose by 14% compared to the corresponding period, reaching $11.63 billion, above analysts' forecasts.
Net profit rose to $5.63 billion, compared to $5.27 billion in the corresponding quarter. Adjusted profit reached $6.3 billion, or $3.32 per share, compared to a forecast of $3.23 per share.
Payment activity also continued to expand. The volume of payments and processed transactions increased by 10%, while cross-border transaction volume grew by 13%. For the first time in the company's history, quarterly payment volume crossed the $4 trillion mark.
In other words, Visa is not firing workers because customers stopped using its services or because its revenue is shrinking. On the contrary: The company is growing, making profits, and processing more transactions than ever, yet it has nevertheless decided that it can do so with fewer employees.
Shifting Priorities
Visa's case joins a growing trend in the employment market. Large companies no longer wait for a drop in revenue to make cuts. Layoffs have become a tool allowing them to alter organizational structure, reduce costs, and transfer budgets from legacy areas to technologies and activities considered more promising.
For employees, this is a significant shift in the rules of the game. In the past, strong financial results might have provided a relative sense of security. Today, even a company reporting billions of dollars in profits, beating forecasts, and demonstrating double-digit growth can decide its workforce is too large or not adapted to the new direction in which it wants to advance.
Visa is not a classic technology company, but its operations rely heavily on payment systems, data, and digital infrastructure. Therefore, cuts specifically targeting technology and product teams may be a sign that the change does not end with replacing routine roles with automation, but reaches even the employees who develop and manage the products themselves.
The message to workers is clear: In the current era, a company's success no longer necessarily guarantees job stability. Sometimes it provides the company with the resources to execute a deeper change, and to invest in a future that it believes will require fewer workers.