Visa Layoffs: Latest Updates, Severance, WARN and Employee Guide

Recent layoffHigh confidenceLatest verified event: July 28, 2026· Reviewed September 17, 2026

Visa announced a reduction of about 7% on July 28, 2026, concentrated in technology and product, with 390 US roles under WARN in Foster City and Bellevue effective October 1 — the first day of Visa's fiscal 2027.

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Educational, employee-first summary of publicly available information — not legal, financial, tax or immigration advice, and not affiliated with or endorsed by Visa. Verify your specific situation with HR, official notices and qualified professionals.

Quick answer

Latest verified development: On July 28, 2026 — the same day as its Q3 fiscal 2026 earnings — Visa told staff it was eliminating roles, with the majority in technology and product. CEO Ryan McInerney confirmed the reduction on the earnings call. The figures of about 2,600 roles and roughly 7% of the workforce come from a staff memo obtained by Bloomberg; Visa confirmed that reporting but never published the numbers itself.
What kind of event: A workforce reduction Visa frames as driving efficiency in order to reinvest in higher-growth areas. Visa's own filed language is 'severance costs', not 'restructuring'.
What number is confirmed: Visa confirmed the reduction and that the majority fell in technology and product. It did not publish a headcount. About 2,600 and about 7% are reported figures — and 2,600 against the ~34,100 employees in Visa's FY2025 10-K is 7.6%, which is consistent.
Who appears most affected: Technology and product teams, including senior staff. The California WARN filing covers 6 vice presidents, 37 senior directors and 16 chief engineering or architect roles among 320 Foster City employees, plus 70 in Bellevue.
What to verify first: Your official termination date relative to Visa's September 30 fiscal year end, your severance offer in writing, your RSU vest dates, and — if you hold a work visa — which Visa entity sponsors your petition, confirmed with immigration counsel rather than from the date on your letter.

Current status as of September 17, 2026

Classification: Recent layoff

Confirmed

✓July 28, 2026: McInerney said on the Q3 FY2026 earnings call that Visa was "eliminating roles, with the majority being in our technology and product teams, to ensure that we are continuing to position Visa for future growth."
✓Visa recorded $563 million in severance costs for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 — a period that closed before the July 28 public announcement — disclosed in its Q3 FY2026 earnings release furnished on Form 8-K.
✓CFO Chris Suh described the charge as covering "changes to our workforce, including those that Ryan discussed" — so the $563 million is an aggregate covering workforce actions beyond the reduction McInerney announced, and Visa published no breakdown of its components or covered population.
✓California WARN: 320 employees at 900 Metro Center Blvd, Foster City, notice July 31, 2026, effective October 1, 2026.
✓Washington WARN: 70 employees in Bellevue, notice July 31, 2026, effective October 1, 2026.
✓August 3, 2026: Visa agreed to acquire AI fraud-detection firm BioCatch for $2.4 billion in cash, six days after the reduction.

Reported / proposed (not confirmed)

•The figures of about 2,600 roles and roughly 7% come from a staff memo obtained by Bloomberg. A Visa spokesperson confirmed the reporting to SFGATE but declined to comment on specifics.
•Reinvestment targets reported from the memo include consumer payments, commercial and money movement, stablecoin and cross-border B2B.
•CNBC reported an unnamed source saying AI played a significant role but was not the sole driver.
•Visa issued no standalone press release about the layoffs and filed no Item 2.05 8-K. The FY2026 10-K, expected around November 2026, will be the first annual filing to describe the action.

Visa snapshot

Legal employer name	Visa Inc.
Common name	Visa
Parent company	None (independent)
Covered subsidiaries	Visa U.S.A. Inc., Visa Technology & Operations LLC, Visa International Service Association, CyberSource Corporation
Industry	Payments technology
Headquarters	San Francisco, California, United States
Ticker	V (NYSE)
Employee base	~34,100 employees in 86 countries, more than 60% outside the United States (as of September 30, 2025)
Latest verified event	About 7% of the workforce (~2,600 roles reported), majority in technology and product — July 28, 2026
Historical H-1B sponsor	Yes (federal data)
Source confidence	High confidence
Guide last reviewed	September 17, 2026 by Deepak Middha

Visa layoff timeline

Visa's 2026 reduction is unusual in how little the company said about it directly: no press release, no standalone SEC filing, and no headcount — but a precisely disclosed $563 million severance charge sitting inside a routine earnings release. Rounds are listed newest first.

About 7% of the workforce (~2,600 roles reported), majority in technology and product

July 28, 2026high

LayoffCompany-announcedAffected: ~2,600 (about 7%) — reported from a staff memo; Visa published no headcount (~7%)

Affected divisions: Technology, Product
Affected roles: Software engineering, Data engineering and science, Vice presidents and senior directors, Chief engineers and architects
Locations: Foster City, CA, Bellevue, WA
Effective date: October 1, 2026

Company-stated reason: McInerney told investors Visa was eliminating roles "to ensure that we are continuing to position Visa for future growth." The staff memo reported by Bloomberg framed it as "driving efficiency across the company in order to reinvest in our highest potential opportunities," adding that "AI is also helping to accelerate this evolution and shape the way work gets done at Visa." [4],[1],[5],[6],[7]

What this means for you: The WARN effective date of October 1 is the first day of Visa's fiscal 2027, meaning affected employees were on payroll for the whole of the FY2026 performance period. Whether that translates into a bonus payment depends on plan terms Visa has not published — ask, in writing, before you sign anything.

~1,400 roles reported in an international-business restructuring

November 1, 2024medium

RestructuringOfficially filedAffected: ~1,400 reported globally; 293 under California WARN

Affected divisions: International business
Affected roles: Corporate, Regional operations
Locations: San Mateo County, CA, San Francisco County, CA

Company-stated reason: Reported as a restructuring of Visa's international business. Visa did not publish terms or a headcount. [8],[17]

What this means for you: California's WARN records show this round arriving as two separate notice groups with two different effective dates, not as one 293-person action: 91 employees were noticed on November 1, 2024 with an effective date of January 3, 2025, and 202 were noticed on November 21, 2024 with an effective date of January 21, 2025. One announced reduction can generate several filings on different dates, so the only dates that govern you are those on the filing matching your own worksite and notice — do not read the later effective date across the whole round.

What changed between rounds

This is not the 'AI layoff' the headlines call it

Visa has never said AI replaced these workers. The only AI sentence in the reported memo is that "AI is also helping to accelerate this evolution and shape the way work gets done at Visa" — the load-bearing words being 'also' and 'helping to accelerate'. The stated reason is efficiency and reinvestment. On the earnings call McInerney did not mention AI in connection with the cuts at all. CNBC reported an unnamed source saying AI played a significant role but was not the sole driver, which is anonymous sourcing rather than a company statement. Six days later Visa agreed to buy AI fraud-detection firm BioCatch for $2.4 billion — which fits the reallocation story, but is not evidence that software replaced the 2,600.

Why Foster City took the largest share — and why this is not a headquarters layoff

Foster City is Visa's major technology and product campus, not its headquarters. When Visa announced its San Francisco headquarters in 2019, it said in the same release that "Visa's Foster City offices will be completely redesigned with the latest technology and amenities for our Technology and Product teams who will be co-located there." Visa opened that San Francisco building at Mission Rock in June 2024, describing it in its own newsroom as "Visa's New Headquarters and Market Support Center" and as "our new HQ." So a reduction concentrated in technology and product produced a 320-person WARN filing at 900 Metro Center Blvd in Foster City — the engineering campus — rather than at the San Francisco headquarters. Coverage that calls this a 'Visa HQ layoff' is describing the wrong site. Note also that Visa's SEC correspondence address is a San Francisco P.O. box and its 10-K describes its corporate headquarters as being in the San Francisco Bay Area rather than naming one city.

Austin did not appear in WARN, and that is worth knowing

Austin is a major Visa technology site — in recent Department of Labor filings it is the top worksite for both Visa petitioning entities. Our own query of the official Texas WARN dataset for employer names containing 'Visa' returned no records for this round. That is a site inference from a dataset search, not a company statement, and an absence of records is not evidence that no Austin employee was affected: WARN thresholds are per-site, Texas has no state law beyond the federal one, and a reduction can fall below the threshold at a given worksite. Treat it only as a reason to check the Texas listing for your own worksite yourself rather than relying on either conclusion.

The $563 million charge is real — and it is not a per-person number

Start with the timing, because it is the part most coverage skips: Visa recorded the $563 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, a period that had already closed before the July 28 public announcement. It is tempting to divide $563 million by 2,600 and reach roughly $216,000 a head. Do not. CFO Chris Suh said the charge covered "changes to our workforce, including those that Ryan discussed" — the word 'including' is load-bearing, and it means the charge covers workforce actions beyond the reported July reduction. The entire $563 million therefore cannot be assigned to the reported 2,600-person action. It is an aggregate accounting charge, and Visa has published no breakdown of its components or of the population it covers — so neither a per-person figure nor a split between amounts paid to employees and other costs can be derived from it.

Visa's Executive Severance Plan: check whether you are an expressly covered participant

Visa maintains an Executive Severance Plan — established in 2010 and amended and restated effective January 1, 2022, which is the operative version. Participation is limited rather than general. Under the plan an executive participates only if the executive is or becomes a member of Visa's executive committee (unless the Compensation Committee determines otherwise) or the Compensation Committee otherwise designates the executive as eligible, and then returns an executed letter agreement. Visa's current proxy disclosure states that its named executive officers are participants; it does not describe any broader employee population as covered, and no public source establishes that vice presidents, senior directors or other employees are participants. What the disclosure describes is a capped lump sum of two times the sum of base salary and target annual incentive, a prorated incentive for the partial performance period, and a cash amount equal to the cost of two years of continued health benefits — all subject to eligibility, a qualifying termination, a timely executed and non-revoked waiver and release, and the operative plan terms. On triggers, note what the plan actually says: an involuntary termination by Visa without cause is a qualifying termination at any time, and no change of control is required for it. The change-of-control condition attaches to a participant's resignation for good reason (within two years of a change of control) and to specified change-of-control treatment. Rather than assuming this plan does or does not reach you, verify in writing whether you are an expressly covered participant before relying on any of these terms.

The October 1 effective date sits one day into a new fiscal year

Visa's fiscal year ends September 30. The WARN effective date is October 1 — the first day of fiscal 2027. Anyone on payroll to that point was employed for the entire FY2026 performance period. Whether a separated employee actually receives an FY2026 bonus depends on plan terms Visa has not made public, so this is a question to ask rather than an entitlement to assume. But the date alignment is factual, and it is the single most valuable thing to raise with HR in writing.

WARN notice research

Visa's US filings for this round are small relative to the reported global total, which is what you would expect at a company where more than 60% of employees work outside the United States. Two states published notices dated July 31, 2026 covering 390 roles between them, both effective October 1. The Foster City address on the California filing — 900 Metro Center Blvd — is Visa's technology and product campus rather than its San Francisco headquarters, which is why a technology-and-product cut landed there. The 2024 round is listed below as the four separate records California actually published: two notice groups, on November 1 and November 21, 2024, carrying two different effective dates. They are shown separately because that is how the official data reads — treating all 293 as a single filing with the later dates would misstate the notice and effective dates for the 91 employees in the first group.

Legal employer	State	City / worksite	Notice date	Effective	Affected	Official filing
Visa	California	Foster City — 900 Metro Center Blvd, Foster City, CA 94404	July 31, 2026	October 1, 2026	320	California Employment Development Department (EDD)
Visa	Washington	Bellevue	July 31, 2026	October 1, 2026	70	Washington State Employment Security Department
Visa	California	San Francisco County	November 1, 2024	January 3, 2025	65	California Employment Development Department (EDD)
Visa	California	San Mateo County	November 1, 2024	January 3, 2025	26	California Employment Development Department (EDD)
Visa	California	San Mateo County	November 21, 2024	January 21, 2025	192	California Employment Development Department (EDD)
Visa	California	San Francisco County	November 21, 2024	January 21, 2025	10	California Employment Development Department (EDD)

Check the official WARN database for your worksite state:

California WARN Washington WARN Texas WARN Colorado WARN

WARN Tracker What a WARN notice means WARN law by state

Historically reported Visa severance packages

Visa has disclosed what this round cost the company and nothing about what it pays any individual. The $563 million severance charge in its Q3 filing is precise and citable; the formula behind it is not public, and a Visa spokesperson expressly declined to comment on specifics. Anyone presenting a Visa severance table as though the company published one is guessing.

Employees departing in the July 2026 reduction (about 7% of the workforce, majority technology and product) · 2026

Reported / undisclosed

United States

No severance formula has been published or reliably reported. Visa disclosed $563 million in severance costs for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 — a period that closed before the July 28 public announcement. The CFO described it as covering workforce changes "including" the action the CEO discussed, so it is an aggregate accounting charge covering more than the reported reduction, and Visa published no breakdown of its components or covered population. It is not a per-person figure and cannot be converted into one. A Visa spokesperson confirmed Bloomberg's reporting on the size of the cut but declined to comment further on layoff specifics. There is no weeks-per-year multiplier, health-coverage duration, equity treatment or bonus-proration detail in any public document. [1],[7],[4],[14],[15]

Cash severance	Not published — request your calculation in writing, including how your service date is counted
What is actually disclosed	$563 million in severance costs recorded for the quarter ended 30 June 2026 — before the 28 July announcement — covering workforce changes "including" the announced reduction
Do not divide the charge by the headcount	It is an aggregate accounting charge covering more than the reported 2,600-person action, and Visa did not publicly break out its components or the population it covers — so no per-person figure can be derived from it
Bonus timing	The 1 October effective date is the first day of fiscal 2027, so affected staff were employed for all of the FY2026 performance period. Ask in writing whether an FY2026 bonus will be paid
Equity	Confirm your RSU vest dates against your termination date and whether any transition period moves them
The Executive Severance Plan	Participation is limited to Visa's executive committee members and other Compensation-Committee designees who sign a letter agreement. Visa's current proxy says its named executive officers are participants; no public source shows other employees are covered. Verify in writing whether you are an expressly covered participant before relying on its terms
Health coverage	Confirm your coverage end date and any employer-paid period before COBRA
Release	A release is typically required. If you are 40 or over, read the consideration period stated in the agreement itself and check whether decisional-unit information was provided with it, rather than assuming a 21- or 45-day window applies

Note: This entry records what Visa disclosed and what it did not. The $563 million is a company-level accounting charge, not an entitlement or a benchmark for any individual package. Only your own written separation agreement determines what you receive.

What signing asks you to give up

Severance is almost never a gift. In the United States it is nearly always consideration — payment in exchange for a release of claims, which is the operative half of the document and the half that is easy to skim past. Before you sign Visa's agreement, know what the release actually covers and what it cannot.

Typically waived	Claims arising from your employment and its end — discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment and retaliation — usually including claims you do not yet know about.
Wage claims — treated differently	Do not assume unpaid wages are released just because the agreement is broadly worded. Whether a statutory wage claim can be released at all varies by the statute and by your state. Federal minimum-wage and overtime rights under the FLSA are the clearest example: the Supreme Court held that allowing employees to waive statutory wages “would nullify the purposes of the Act,” and extended the same reasoning to liquidated damages (Brooklyn Savings Bank v. O'Neil, 324 U.S. 697 (1945)). Congress provided a specific route instead — payment supervised by the Secretary of Labor, which on payment in full does waive the private right of action (29 U.S.C. § 216(c)) — and courts commonly require court approval or a bona fide dispute for anything else, with the rules differing between circuits. Several states go further: California, for example, voids a release of a wage claim taken before the wages are paid, and bars its wage-payment rules from being “contravened or set aside by a private agreement” (Cal. Lab. Code §§ 206.5, 219). If you are owed final pay, PTO, commissions or overtime, treat that as a separate question from the release and get advice on your own state's rule.
Often added alongside	Non-disparagement, confidentiality about the agreement, cooperation clauses, return-of-property terms, and sometimes non-solicit or non-compete restrictions. These are obligations you take on, not claims you release — read them separately.
Cannot be waived	Your right to file a charge with the EEOC, or to take part in an EEOC investigation. Federal regulation is explicit: no waiver agreement may include a provision prohibiting anyone from filing a charge — including a challenge to the validity of the waiver itself— or from participating in an EEOC proceeding, and none may impose a penalty or condition that adversely affects that right (29 C.F.R. § 1625.22(i)). Vested retirement benefits, unemployment eligibility and, in most states, workers' compensation claims also sit outside a release.
If you are 40 or older	“An individual may not waive any right or claim under this chapter unless the waiver is knowing and voluntary” — and the ADEA sets out what that requires at a minimum (29 U.S.C. § 626(f)(1)). Which consideration period applies depends on how the offer is made: At least 21 days to consider the agreement — the general rule for a waiver offered to you individually (§ 626(f)(1)(F)(i)). At least 45 days instead, where the waiver is requested in connection with an exit incentive or other employment termination program offered to a group or class of employees (§ 626(f)(1)(F)(ii)). Whether your separation is part of such a program is a factual question about how the employer structured and offered the waiver — a company announcing a layoff round does not by itself establish that every separation agreement in it is part of a group program. At least 7 days after you sign in which you may revoke, and the agreement cannot become effective or enforceable until that period expires (§ 626(f)(1)(G)). This one cannot be shortened. Where a waiver is requested in connection with such a group program, the employer must also inform you in writing, at the start of the consideration period, of the class, unit or group covered, the eligibility factors and any time limits, plus the job titles and ages of everyone eligible or selected and the ages of everyone in the same job classification or organizational unit who was not selected (§ 626(f)(1)(H)). Do not assume which period applies to you. Read the agreement itself — it normally states the consideration period on its face — and check whether you were given decisional-unit information alongside it. If the stated window is shorter than you expected, or group disclosures are absent where the waiver appears to be tied to a group program, that is worth raising with an employment lawyer before you sign rather than assuming either 21 or 45 days is your entitlement.

If those requirements are not met, the age-claim waiver does not hold. The Supreme Court put it plainly in Oubre v. Entergy Operations, Inc., 522 U.S. 422 (1998): a release that does not comply with the OWBPA “is unenforceable against her insofar as it purports to waive or release her ADEA claim… the release cannot bar her ADEA suit, irrespective of the validity of the contract as to other claims” — and she did not have to give the money back first. Note the second half of that sentence: the defect invalidates the ADEA waiver, not automatically every other provision of the agreement, which may still bind you. It is also the employer's burden to prove a waiver was knowing and voluntary (§ 626(f)(3)), which is why a shortened window or a missing group disclosure is worth raising before you sign rather than after. Severance agreements over 40 (OWBPA) covers this in full, and severance agreement red flags covers the clauses worth pushing back on. This is general information, not legal advice about your situation.

Past packages provide historical context only. Your terms may differ by layoff round, role, level, tenure, location, legal employer and separation agreement. If you are 40 or older, review the severance agreement over 40 (OWBPA) guide before signing.

Estimate your severance

Free severance pay calculator — not a promise of Visa terms.

Calculate your runway

Combine severance, notice/WARN pay, final pay, PTO, unemployment and savings against expenses.

Visa-specific compensation issues

Your termination date sits one day into a new fiscal year

Visa's fiscal year ended September 30, 2026 and the WARN effective date is October 1 — meaning affected employees were on payroll for the entire FY2026 performance period. That is a strong position from which to ask about your annual incentive, but it is not an automatic payment: bonus plans commonly require active employment on the payment date, which falls months later. Ask HR in writing whether an FY2026 bonus will be paid, on what date, and whether it is prorated. [3],[9]

RSUs and vest timing

Visa compensation at senior technical levels is heavily weighted toward RSUs. What happens to unvested awards at separation is controlled by the applicable equity plan, your individual award agreement and your separation terms — not by a general rule, and Visa has published nothing about equity treatment in this round. Note that Visa's proxy describes pro-rata treatment for named executive officers' awards on an involuntary termination without cause, which shows the outcome is a matter of award terms rather than automatic forfeiture; it does not tell you what your own grants say. Pull your grant agreements and vesting schedule, mark which tranches fall before and after your termination date, and ask in writing how each unvested tranche will be treated. If a meaningful vest sits just past that date, that is a concrete, quantified item to raise during the review period. [7]

Confirm whether the Executive Severance Plan covers you before citing it

Visa's Executive Severance Plan — amended and restated effective January 1, 2022 — describes a capped lump sum of two times base salary plus target annual incentive, a prorated incentive and a cash amount equal to two years of continued health-benefit cost, subject to eligibility, a qualifying termination and a timely executed, non-revoked release. Participation is limited: an executive participates only as a member of Visa's executive committee or as a Compensation Committee designee who has returned a signed letter agreement. Visa's current proxy identifies its named executive officers as participants and does not describe any wider group as covered, so there is no public basis for saying the vice presidents and senior directors in the California filing are participants — or that they are not. On triggers, the plan treats an involuntary termination by Visa without cause as a qualifying termination at any time, with no change of control required; the change-of-control condition applies to a resignation for good reason and to specified change-of-control treatment. The practical step is the same either way: ask in writing whether you are an expressly covered participant, and do not anchor a negotiation on these figures until you have the answer. [14],[15]

Which Visa entity sponsors your visa

H-1B petitions are filed by Visa Technology & Operations LLC and Visa U.S.A. Inc., not by Visa Inc. If you are on an H-1B, the entity on your petition is the one that matters for any transfer paperwork and for identifying the employment on which your classification was based — and it may not be the name on your badge. Confirm it from your I-797 approval notice rather than assuming. Note too that the date on your separation letter does not by itself establish when the employment supporting your classification ceased, so take the entity name and the dates to immigration counsel promptly rather than counting days yourself. [18]

Health insurance, benefits and final pay

•Confirm your exact coverage end date and COBRA cost; compare against an ACA Marketplace plan before deciding.
•Losing job-based coverage generally creates a Marketplace Special Enrollment Period, available for 60 days before and 60 days after the loss of coverage. Verify the effective-date mechanics for the plan you choose, since when coverage starts can depend on when you enrol.
•For your 401(k), compare the options rather than rushing: leaving the assets in Visa's plan, rolling to a new employer's plan, rolling to an IRA, or taking a distribution. Weigh fees, investment options, any outstanding loan and loan-offset treatment, and the tax consequences. There is usually no universal 30-day rollover deadline, but an outstanding plan loan can have its own timeline — check yours.
•Check HSA/FSA balances, ESPP purchase timing and dependent-coverage end dates.
•Ask whether outplacement is included, through which provider, and for how long.

Final pay, unused PTO, bonus and commission treatment depend on your work state, company policy, legal employer, separation agreement and pay classification — there is no single nationwide rule (for example, some states treat accrued PTO as earned wages, others leave it to policy). Verify with these tools:

Final Paycheck Calculator COBRA vs Marketplace Unemployment hub Severance & tax

H-1B and employment-visa considerations

Historical sponsorship: Yes — Visa Technology & Operations LLC and Visa U.S.A. Inc.

Visa is a substantial H-1B sponsor, but not under the name most people expect. Federal USCIS data shows petitions filed by Visa Technology & Operations LLC and Visa U.S.A. Inc., both at Foster City / San Mateo, California — while "Visa Inc." itself is not a petitioner and Visa International Service Association has no H-1B records. Approvals across the two filing entities rose from 426 workers in FY2018 to 1,041 in FY2022, concentrated in software engineering, data engineering and product roles. Because this round fell mainly on technology and product teams, visa-sponsored employees may be affected, but no affected-status breakdown is public — neither Visa nor any official source has disclosed how many affected employees held H-1B or any other sponsored status. On timing, the regulation provides an eligible H-1B worker a discretionary period of up to 60 consecutive days following cessation of the employment on which the classification was based, or until the authorized validity period ends, whichever is shorter, and DHS may shorten or eliminate it. A payroll, severance or employer-labelled termination date does not automatically resolve when that cessation occurred. Confirm your sponsoring entity and the relevant dates from your I-797 and your separation paperwork, and take them to qualified immigration counsel promptly. [18]

•For an eligible H-1B worker, the regulation provides a discretionary period of up to 60 consecutive days following cessation of the employment on which the classification was based, or until the authorized validity period ends, whichever is shorter (8 C.F.R. § 214.1(l)(2)). It is available once during each authorized validity period, and DHS may shorten or eliminate it.
•A payroll, severance or employer-labelled termination date does not automatically resolve when that cessation occurred. Confirm the facts promptly with qualified immigration counsel rather than counting days from the date on your letter.
•The period may allow a transfer, a change of status or departure, but it is not work authorization in itself — unless otherwise authorized, you may not work during it.
•Ask about internal transfer and subsidiary transfer options, employment-verification letters, and any I-140/green-card process impact.

H-1B layoff guide 60-day countdown Questions for an immigration attorney

This is general information, not case-specific legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your situation.

Alumni and former-employee networks

Visa alumni cluster across payments, fintech and card-issuing banks, and the Foster City technology cohort is well known to Bay Area fintech recruiters. Note that many technology staff are employed by Visa Technology & Operations LLC rather than Visa Inc., so search both names — profiles split across the two entities.

Visa alumni network

Visa alumni across payments technology, product, risk and client services.

Many Visa technology staff are employed by Visa Technology and Operations LLC rather than Visa Inc. — search both names.

Alumni network · LinkedIn alumni search · opens a public LinkedIn people search · link checked 2026-08-26

Open

Communities beyond Visa

Layoffs.fyi
Tech layoff tracker with a community list of laid-off talent open to work.
Visit
VetsinTech
Nonprofit connecting military veterans to tech training, employment and a national network.
Visit
Disability:IN
Business network for disability inclusion — employer directory and a talent programme.
Visit

All alumni networks and ERGs for Visa

Questions to ask Visa HR

1. What is my official termination date, and is it before or after Visa's September 30 fiscal year end?
Why it matters: It governs whether you completed the FY2026 bonus performance period.
2. Will I receive an FY2026 annual incentive, on what date, and is it prorated?
3. How is my severance calculated, and is it a lump sum or salary continuation?
4. Am I an expressly covered participant in the Visa Executive Severance Plan, and if so do you hold my signed letter agreement?
Why it matters: Participation is limited to executive committee members and Compensation Committee designees who signed a letter agreement — worth confirming in writing rather than assuming either way.
5. What happens to my unvested RSUs, and which tranches vest before my termination date?
6. When exactly does my health coverage end, and is there any employer-paid COBRA period?
7. Which legal entity employs me — Visa Inc., Visa U.S.A. Inc., or Visa Technology & Operations LLC?
8. If I am on a work visa, which entity sponsors my petition and who provides immigration letters?
9. Is outplacement included, through which provider, and for how long?
10. What is my review and revocation window on the separation agreement?
11. How will Visa code my separation for unemployment purposes?

Get the important answers in writing where you can.

Employee action plan

First 24 hours

→Do firstGet your official termination date in writing and check it against Visa's September 30 fiscal year end.
→Do firstIf on an H-1B, confirm your sponsoring entity from your I-797 and contact immigration counsel today — the date on your letter does not by itself establish when the qualifying employment ceased.
→Do firstSave permitted personal documents — offer letter, RSU grants and vesting schedule, bonus plan documents, pay stubs — before access ends.
→Do not sign the separation agreement immediately. Note your review and revocation window.

First 7 days

→Ask in writing whether an FY2026 bonus will be paid and on what date.
→Map your RSU vest dates against your termination date and quantify what you would forfeit.
→Ask in writing whether you are an expressly covered participant in the Executive Severance Plan before anchoring any negotiation on it.
→Look up your worksite in the official state WARN listing — California and Washington both published this round.
→Confirm your health-coverage end date, compare COBRA against Marketplace plans, and compare your 401(k) options (stay in plan, new employer plan, IRA, or distribution) on fees, investments, any loan and tax treatment.

First 30 days

→File for unemployment in your work state; eligibility rules around severance vary, so do not assume you must wait.
→Decide health coverage inside the Marketplace Special Enrollment Period (generally 60 days before and 60 days after losing coverage), and settle your 401(k) decision.
→Do firstIf on a visa, work with counsel on any transfer or change of status within whatever period applies to you — it is discretionary and can be shortened.
→Reconnect with Visa alumni across payments and fintech — search both Visa Inc. and Visa Technology & Operations.
→Build a written runway plan using the severance and runway calculators.

Related LayoffNext tools

Build My Layoff Plan Severance Pay Calculator Layoff Runway Calculator Final Paycheck & PTO Payout Calculator COBRA vs Marketplace Unemployment hub WARN Tracker H-1B 60-Day Countdown Alumni & ERG Directory Job Search After Layoff

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Visa layoffs — frequently asked questions

Is Visa laying off employees in 2026?+

Yes. On July 28, 2026, the same day as its Q3 fiscal 2026 earnings, Visa told staff it was eliminating roles with the majority in technology and product. CEO Ryan McInerney confirmed it on the earnings call. Reporting based on a staff memo puts the cut at about 2,600 roles, roughly 7% of the workforce. WARN filings cover 320 employees in Foster City, California and 70 in Bellevue, Washington, both effective October 1, 2026. [4],[5],[9],[10]

How many people did Visa lay off?+

Visa never published a headcount. The figures of about 2,600 roles and roughly 7% come from a staff memo obtained by Bloomberg; a Visa spokesperson confirmed that reporting but declined to comment on specifics. As a sanity check, 2,600 against the approximately 34,100 employees Visa reported for fiscal 2025 is about 7.6%, consistent with the reported percentage. [5],[7],[3]

Is the Visa layoff because of AI?+

Visa has never said AI replaced these workers. The only AI reference in the reported memo is that "AI is also helping to accelerate this evolution and shape the way work gets done at Visa" — framing it as accelerating a shift, not causing the cuts. The stated reason is efficiency and reinvestment in higher-growth areas, and McInerney did not mention AI in connection with the cuts on the earnings call. CNBC reported an unnamed source saying AI played a significant role but was not the sole driver. Headlines calling this an AI layoff are characterisation, not company statement. [5],[6],[4]

What severance is Visa offering?+

Visa has not published severance terms, and its spokesperson expressly declined to comment on specifics. What is disclosed is a company-level cost: $563 million in severance charges recorded for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 — a period that closed before the July 28 public announcement. CFO Chris Suh described the charge as covering changes to Visa's workforce "including" the action the CEO discussed, so it is an aggregate figure covering more than the reported 2,600-person reduction, and Visa published no breakdown of its components or of the population it covers. Dividing it by 2,600 does not produce a per-person severance estimate, and it should not be read as $563 million paid to the reported 2,600 employees. Ask HR for your own calculation in writing. [1],[7],[4]

Does Visa's Executive Severance Plan apply to me?+

Check whether you are an expressly covered participant rather than assuming either way. Visa's Executive Severance Plan, amended and restated effective January 1, 2022, limits participation: an executive participates only as a member of Visa's executive committee or as a Compensation Committee designee who has returned a signed letter agreement. Visa's current proxy disclosure states that its named executive officers are participants, and no public source shows that vice presidents, senior directors or other employees are covered. The disclosed benefit on a qualifying termination is a capped lump sum of two times the sum of base salary and target annual incentive, a prorated annual incentive, and a cash amount equal to the cost of two years of continued health benefits — subject to eligibility, a qualifying termination, a timely executed and non-revoked waiver and release, and the operative plan terms. On triggers, an involuntary termination by Visa without cause is a qualifying termination at any time and does not require a change of control; the change-of-control condition applies to a participant's resignation for good reason and to specified change-of-control treatment. Ask Visa in writing whether you are an expressly covered participant before relying on any of these terms. [14],[15]

Will I get my fiscal 2026 bonus?+

Ask, in writing. Visa's fiscal year ends September 30 and the WARN effective date is October 1 — the first day of fiscal 2027 — so affected employees were on payroll for the entire FY2026 performance period. That is a strong position, but not an automatic payment: bonus plans commonly require active employment on the payment date, which falls months after year end. Visa has not made those plan terms public, so this is a question for HR rather than an assumption. [3],[9]

Did Visa file WARN notices?+

Yes, in two states, both dated July 31, 2026 and effective October 1, 2026: 320 employees at 900 Metro Center Blvd in Foster City, California — Visa's technology and product campus, not its San Francisco headquarters — and 70 in Bellevue, Washington. Reporting on the California filing describes 6 vice presidents, 37 senior directors and 16 chief engineering or architect roles among them. Visa's earlier 2024 round appears in California as four separate records across two notice groups: 91 employees noticed November 1, 2024 with a January 3, 2025 effective date, and 202 noticed November 21, 2024 with a January 21, 2025 effective date, totalling 293. Our own query of the official Texas WARN dataset returned no Visa records for the 2026 round; that is a dataset search rather than a company statement, and an absence of records does not establish that no Austin employee was affected. [9],[17],[10],[7],[11]

Does Visa sponsor H-1B workers?+

Yes, but under subsidiary names. Federal USCIS data shows H-1B petitions filed by Visa Technology & Operations LLC and Visa U.S.A. Inc., both based at Foster City / San Mateo, California. "Visa Inc." itself is not a petitioner. Approvals across the two entities grew from 426 workers in FY2018 to 1,041 in FY2022, concentrated in software engineering, data engineering and product roles. Because the reduction fell mainly on technology and product, visa-sponsored employees may be affected, but no affected-status breakdown is public. On timing, the regulation provides an eligible H-1B worker a discretionary period of up to 60 consecutive days following cessation of the employment on which the classification was based, or until the authorized validity period ends, whichever is shorter, and DHS may shorten or eliminate that period. A payroll, severance or employer-labelled termination date does not automatically resolve when cessation occurred. Confirm your sponsoring entity from your I-797 and take the facts to qualified immigration counsel promptly. [18]

Why did the cuts hit Foster City hardest?+

Because that is where Visa's technology and product teams sit. Foster City is Visa's major technology and product campus, not its headquarters: when Visa announced its San Francisco headquarters in 2019 it said in the same release that the Foster City offices would be "completely redesigned with the latest technology and amenities for our Technology and Product teams who will be co-located there," and Visa opened that San Francisco building at Mission Rock in June 2024, describing it in its own newsroom as its new headquarters. A reduction concentrated in technology and product therefore landed at 900 Metro Center Blvd in Foster City rather than at the San Francisco headquarters — which is why this is a campus layoff rather than a headquarters layoff. [12],[16],[9]

Sources and methodology

Every material figure on this page references a numbered source below. We prioritize company and SEC filings, official government and WARN data, and federal immigration data, followed by reputable reporting; anonymous posts are not used as a sole source for any material claim. Confidence labels describe source strength, not certainty for your situation: supported by company, sec, government, or multiple strong sources. (High); credible reporting exists but important details remain incomplete. (Medium); public evidence is incomplete or primarily secondary. (Limited).

[1] Visa Inc. Q3 fiscal 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K exhibit) — $563 million in severance costs SEC filing
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) · July 28, 2026 · Accessed September 17, 2026 · primary
Supports: "Severance costs. For the three and nine months ended June 30, 2026 ... we recorded severance costs within personnel expense resulting from actions taken to drive operational efficiencies and reinvest in high-growth opportunities.", $563 million recorded in the three months ended 30 June 2026, Personnel expense rose from $1.749 billion in Q3 FY2025 to $2.458 billion in Q3 FY2026, Visa's filed language is "severance costs", never "restructuring charge", The charge was booked in the quarter ended 30 June 2026 — before the 28 July announcement
[2] Visa Inc. Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 SEC filing
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) · July 29, 2026 · Accessed September 17, 2026 · primary
Supports: Quarterly financial statements for the period in which the severance charge was recorded, Ryan McInerney confirmed as Chief Executive Officer; Chris Suh as Chief Financial Officer
[3] Visa Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 — approximately 34,100 employees SEC filing
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) · November 6, 2025 · Accessed September 17, 2026 · primary
Supports: "we grew our total workforce from approximately 31,600 in fiscal 2024 to approximately 34,100 employees in fiscal 2025, an increase of 8% year-over-year", Employees across 86 countries and territories, more than 60% located outside the United States, Voluntary attrition of approximately 6% on a rolling 12-month basis as of 30 September 2025, Fiscal year ends 30 September, Corporate headquarters described as being in the San Francisco Bay Area, Ticker V on the New York Stock Exchange; incorporated in Delaware
[4] Visa Q3 fiscal 2026 earnings call transcript — Ryan McInerney and Chris Suh on the workforce reduction Reputable reporting
Investing.com (third-party transcript of a public company call) · July 28, 2026 · Accessed September 17, 2026 · secondary
Supports: Ryan McInerney: "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.", Chris Suh: "we had $563 million in severance costs related to changes to our workforce, including those that Ryan discussed, as we continue to focus on driving efficiency across the company", McInerney did not attribute the reduction to AI on the call
[5] Visa to Cut 7% of Workforce as CEO Seeks to Revamp Payments Firm Reputable reporting
Bloomberg · July 28, 2026 · Accessed September 17, 2026 · secondary
Supports: The originating report of the ~2,600 roles and ~7% figures, based on a staff memo obtained by Bloomberg, Memo: "To capture the opportunities ahead and best position Visa to lead this transformation, we must continue evolving how we work.", Memo: "AI is also helping to accelerate this evolution and shape the way work gets done at Visa.", Memo: "driving efficiency across the company in order to reinvest in our highest potential opportunities"
[6] Visa is cutting 7% of employees in efficiency push as AI reshapes work Reputable reporting
CNBC · July 28, 2026 · Accessed September 17, 2026 · secondary
Supports: Approximately 2,600 roles, about 7% of the workforce, An unnamed source familiar with Visa's reasoning said AI played a significant role but was not the sole driver
[7] Visa layoffs reach senior ranks at Foster City campus Reputable reporting
SFGATE (Matthew Brown) · August 4, 2026 · Accessed September 17, 2026 · secondary
Supports: "A Visa spokesperson confirmed Bloomberg's reporting in an email to SFGATE but declined to comment further on layoff specifics.", The California WARN filing covers 6 vice presidents, 37 senior directors and 16 chief engineering or architect roles, Dozens of senior software engineering, research and technical roles, Foster City VP roles advertised at $235,700 to $458,000 plus incentives three months earlier
[8] Visa cuts 2,600 tech jobs to fund stablecoin and B2B growth Reputable reporting
PYMNTS · July 28, 2026 · Accessed September 17, 2026 · secondary
Supports: Reinvestment targets: consumer payments, commercial and money movement, value-added services including stablecoin and cross-border B2B, Visa laid off approximately 1,400 employees in October 2024 in an international-business restructuring
[9] California WARN notice listing — Visa, Foster City Government / WARN
California Employment Development Department (EDD) · Accessed September 17, 2026 · primary
Supports: San Mateo County — 320 employees, notice 31 July 2026, effective 1 October 2026, permanent layoff, Address 900 Metro Center Blvd, Foster City CA 94404; industry code 52 Finance and Insurance
[10] Washington WARN layoff and closure database — Visa, Bellevue Government / WARN
Washington State Employment Security Department · Accessed September 17, 2026 · primary
Supports: Bellevue — 70 employees, notice 31 July 2026, effective 1 October 2026
[11] Texas WARN notice dataset — no Visa filings returned Government / WARN
Texas Workforce Commission (Texas Open Data Portal) · Accessed September 17, 2026 · primary
Supports: A query of the official Texas WARN dataset for employer names containing "Visa" returned no records, Austin, a major Visa technology site, does not appear in Texas WARN filings for this round
[12] Visa announces new San Francisco headquarters and redesigned Foster City campus for technology and product teams Company / official
Visa Inc. (Newsroom) · November 6, 2019 · Accessed September 17, 2026 · primary
Supports: "Visa's Foster City offices will be completely redesigned with the latest technology and amenities for our Technology and Product teams who will be co-located there.", Explains why a technology-and-product reduction concentrated in Foster City
[13] Visa to acquire BioCatch for $2.4 billion in cash Company / official
Visa Inc. (Newsroom) · August 3, 2026 · Accessed September 17, 2026 · primary
Supports: Visa agreed to acquire AI fraud-detection firm BioCatch for $2.4 billion in cash, six days after the workforce reduction, Consistent with the stated reallocation of capital toward higher-growth opportunities
[14] Visa Inc. Executive Severance Plan, amended and restated effective January 1, 2022 (Exhibit 10.8 to the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2021) SEC filing
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) · January 28, 2022 · Accessed September 17, 2026 · primary
Supports: The Plan was "amended and restated as of January 1, 2022 (the 'Effective Date')" — this restatement, not any earlier version, is the operative document, Purpose is "to secure the continued services of selected key senior executives of Visa Inc.", Eligibility: an executive participates only if the executive is or becomes a member of the Company's executive committee (unless the Compensation Committee determines otherwise) or the Compensation Committee otherwise designates the executive as eligible, AND the executive returns an executed Letter Agreement within 30 days, AND is employed on the applicable Eligibility Date, "'Covered Termination' shall mean either that (i) the Participant's employment with the Company is involuntarily terminated by the Company without Cause at any time after the Participant's Eligibility Date or (ii) the Participant has resigned from the Company for Good Reason during the two-year period following a Change of Control that occurs after the Participant's Eligibility Date.", An involuntary termination without Cause is a Covered Termination at any time — no change of control is required; the change-of-control condition attaches to a Good Reason resignation, "the amount equal to two (2) times the sum of (1) the Participant's Annual Base Salary and (2) the Participant's Target Incentive Payment, to be paid in a lump sum in cash on the sixty-fifth (65th) day following the Date of Termination", A prorated incentive payment for the fiscal year in which the Date of Termination occurs, determined under the Visa Inc. Incentive Plan, "a taxable lump sum payment equal to the cost of obtaining continued health care benefits ... pursuant to ... COBRA ... for two (2) years following the Date of Termination", Benefits are subject to execution of a Waiver and Release delivered within 50 days of the Date of Termination and not revoked, Participants are bound by restrictive covenants including 18-month non-solicitation obligations, Severance Benefits under the Plan are "considered 'paid leave in lieu of notice' in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. §§ 2101 et seq.) and any similar state worker protection law"
[15] Visa Inc. 2026 Proxy Statement (Schedule 14A) — Executive Severance Plan disclosure SEC filing
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) · December 8, 2025 · Accessed September 17, 2026 · primary
Supports: "Our NEOs are participants in the Executive Severance Plan, which provides for a capped, lump sum severance upon a qualifying termination of two times the sum of the executive's base salary and target annual incentive award, a prorated bonus for any partial performance period under the annual incentive plan, and a cash amount equal to the cost of continued health benefits for two years post-termination.", "These benefits are subject to the NEO's timely execution and non-revocation of a waiver and release of claims.", "For purposes of the Executive Severance Plan, a qualifying termination is limited to an involuntary termination by us without cause at any time or a resignation by the participant for good reason within two years following a change of control.", The named executive officers are the participants identified in the current disclosure; the proxy does not describe any broader employee population as covered, The quantification tables show the same cash severance figure in the "Involuntary Not for Cause Termination" column as in the change-of-control column — confirming the two-times benefit does not depend on a change of control, "Our Executive Severance Plan and equity award agreements require a qualifying termination of employment in addition to a change of control before any change of control payments or benefits are triggered.", Equity award terms: on an involuntary termination by Visa without cause, awards are paid on a pro-rated basis measured from the date of grant to the date of termination
[16] The future of work and commerce meet at Mission Rock — "Visa's New Headquarters and Market Support Center brings agile, flexible work to San Francisco" Company / official
Visa Inc. (Visa Perspectives, Company News) · June 7, 2024 · Accessed September 17, 2026 · primary
Supports: "Visa's New Headquarters and Market Support Center brings agile, flexible work to San Francisco.", "Today, we are thrilled to help open the doors of our new Market Support Center at Mission Rock, on the corner of Toni Stone Crossing and Dr. Maya Angelou Lane in San Francisco", Visa refers to the 13-floor Mission Rock building as "our new HQ", "Today, nearly 1,000 Visa employees are already moved in and making full use of the space.", Visa identifies San Francisco, not Foster City, as the location of its headquarters
[17] California WARN Report for July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 — the four Visa filings in the 2024 round Government / WARN
California Employment Development Department (EDD) · Accessed September 17, 2026 · primary
Supports: Visa — San Francisco County, 65 employees, notice November 1, 2024, effective January 3, 2025, Layoff, Visa — San Mateo County, 26 employees, notice November 1, 2024, effective January 3, 2025, Layoff, Visa — San Mateo County, 192 employees, notice November 21, 2024, effective January 21, 2025, Layoff, Visa — San Francisco County, 10 employees, notice November 21, 2024, effective January 21, 2025, Layoff, Two distinct notice groups: 91 employees noticed November 1, 2024 and 202 noticed November 21, 2024, totalling 293, The listing records county rather than a street address for each of these four filings
[18] USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub — Visa Technology & Operations LLC and Visa U.S.A. Inc. Federal immigration data
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services · Accessed September 17, 2026 · primary
Supports: Visa Technology & Operations LLC (tax ID ending 0018) and Visa U.S.A. Inc. (ending 1694) are the petitioning entities, both at Foster City / San Mateo, California, Workers approved across both entities: 426 in FY2018, 739 in FY2019, 782 in FY2020, 938 in FY2021 and 1,041 in FY2022, "Visa Inc." itself is not an H-1B petitioner, and Visa International Service Association has no H-1B records, Counts are workers approved rather than petitions filed

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Methodology & standards

How we research · Editorial standards

Important disclaimer

This guide is an educational summary of publicly available information about Visa and is not legal, financial, tax, immigration, benefits or employment advice. It is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Visa. Severance, benefits, equity, WARN coverage and legal rights vary by role, level, location, tenure, legal employer, agreement and applicable law, and companies change terms between rounds. Verify your specifics with HR, official notices, state agencies and qualified professionals. See our full disclaimer.

Deepak MiddhaFounder of LayoffNext

Deepak Middha is the founder of LayoffNext and a Chartered Accountant (ICAI, India). A U.S. immigrant with nearly 20 years of experience — and 17 years in hedge fund and private equity administration, including as Vice President of Fund Accounting at NAV Fund Administration Group and Associate Director of Private Equity and Real Estate at SS&C Technologies — he builds free, plain-language layoff tools and guides for employees, H-1B workers, and immigrant families.

Updated September 17, 2026

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