Inside Visa's India layoffs: AI push, surprise emails and deserted desks

Visa sent layoff emails to employees in India before dawn as part of a global workforce cut. The move underscored how AI-led efficiency drives, cost controls and shifting workloads are reshaping jobs.For many Visa employees in India, the workday ended before it even began. In the early hours of July 29, several employees woke up to emails from the human resources team informing them that their jobs had been cut, according to a report by Livemint.The job cuts come as Visa looks to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI) across its business.Visa announced on July 28 that it would reduce around 7% of its global workforce, affecting nearly 2,600 employees, the report mentioned. Chief Executive Officer Ryan McInerney said the company was reshaping its workforce to prepare for the next phase of AI adoption.Speaking during the company's earnings call, he said Visa is moving beyond AI tools that simply assist employees and is now focusing on agentic AI, where AI systems can perform tasks with human supervision. He also said that agentic commerce is expected to create new growth opportunities for the company.INDIA EMPLOYEES CAUGHT BY SURPRISEVisa has not disclosed how many employees in India were affected. The company has more than 3,500 employees in India, with technology and corporate hubs in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad. According to the report, employees in India received layoff emails between 4 am and 5 am on July 29.Several teams were hit hard. In one India-based team of 28 members, 10 employees reportedly lost their jobs. Those affected included senior directors, engineering managers and employees who had spent nearly two decades with the company.Employees were given severance packages and notice periods ranging from around 15 to 30 days. However, many had to return their laptops and ID cards soon after being informed, while access to company systems was withdrawn within days.One employee said that the Bengaluru office, which had been crowded just days earlier, became unusually quiet after the layoffs, the report mentioned.'MY ENTIRE TEAM GOT LAID OFF'The layoffs also triggered reactions on social media.Former Visa employee Arnab Das wrote on X, "Visa laid off some of my close friends. The worst part they laid off my manager yesterday and I don't know how to verify my CV points. What a worst situation to be in."In another post, he said, "My entire team at Visa just got laid off including my manager. The guy had end-to-end ownership of the product, outstanding performance reviews every cycle, and was probably the last person you'd expect to be let go. Feeling shocked. And strangely lucky that I left Visa."His posts reflected the uncertainty many current and former employees felt following the sudden job cuts.AI AT THE CENTRE OF THE RESTRUCTURINGOver the past few months, the company had reportedly reduced contractor hiring and cut spending on external software providers, saying AI could handle some of the work. Some employees also said limits were introduced on the use of AI tools, despite management encouraging greater adoption of the technology.According to the report, developers in the US were asked to use large language models in their work but were later given monthly limits on the number of AI tokens they could consume.Meanwhile, Visa is not the only payments company making such changes. Earlier this year, Mastercard also announced plans to reduce around 4% of its global workforce, saying the move would help it focus on future strategic priorities, including AI-led growth.- EndsPublished By: Jasmine anandPublished On: Aug 4, 2026 17:57 IST