Visa is cutting 7% of employees in efficiency push as AI reshapes work

Visa's CEO Ryan McInerney has discovered that AI is helping 'shape the way work gets done at Visa' — specifically by shaping 2,600 people out of a job. That's 7% of the workforce, mostly in technology and product operations, because nothing says 'efficiency push' quite like turfing the people who built your systems. It's a neat trick: credit the AI for the layoffs while pocketing the savings, and if anyone asks, just call it 'reshaping work.'

McInerney's phrasing is a masterclass in corporate doublespeak — 'efficiency push' sounds like a gym membership, not a redundancy notice. But let's be real: Visa isn't replacing these workers with smarter humans; it's replacing them with algorithms that don't ask for raises or take sick days. The company's stock will no doubt get a bump from the 'cost discipline,' because markets love nothing more than a good headcount reduction dressed up as innovation.

This isn't a one-off; it's the quiet hum of financial services automating itself into a leaner, colder machine. So cheers to Visa for leading the charge into a future where 'the way work gets done' is a euphemism for 'we don't need you anymore.' Just don't expect the CEO to offer you a severance quote about it.