Visa on Tuesday announced plans to cut 7% of its workforce, or about 2,600 jobs, as the payments processor moves ahead with efforts to operate more efficiently.

The reductions are expected to affect technology and product teams most heavily.

"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," Visa CEO Ryan McInerney wrote in a staff memo.

McInerney said Visa must continue evolving the way it operates to capture growth opportunities and stay ahead of industry changes, with the rise of artificial intelligence playing an important role in that shift. For a company that processes payments across more than 200 countries and territories, changes in how it builds and updates products can ripple through a large global network of merchants, banks and consumers.

The layoffs highlight how companies are translating investments in artificial intelligence (AI) into workforce changes, raising questions about how the technology will affect employment while also boosting productivity and profitability.

Although AI has helped reduce repetitive work and speed up product development, it was not the only reason for Visa's job cuts, according to Bloomberg News, which first reported the layoffs, citing a person familiar with the company's rationale.

In its 2025 annual report, Visa said it had about 34,100 employees during fiscal 2025, up roughly 8% from a year earlier.

"We don't view this as a material event, as it is just one of the best-run companies in the world tweaking headcount and costs and reallocating money and resources into areas of higher growth and returns," Evercore ISI analysts said in a note.

Visa's move comes about six months after its closest peer made a similar workforce reduction.

Earlier this year, Mastercard said it would lay off 4% of its global workforce as it sought to refocus corporate investment in other areas. Fintech company Block also said in February that it would cut nearly half of its workforce, or about 4,000 jobs.

Visa operates a digital payments network in more than 200 countries and territories and is used by billions of people for everyday transactions, giving the company some protection from potential economic downturns.

The business model is insulated because it relies on transaction volumes rather than credit risk, allowing strength at the upper end of the income spectrum to offset softness at the lower end.

"As a result of the choices we have made over the past few years, we are entering a new era in commerce with a business that has real momentum," McInerney said in the memo.

Reuters contributed to this report.