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

President of Visa Inc. Ryan McInerney delivers a keynote address at the Transact 15 conference in San Francisco, California April 1, 2015.Noah Berger | ReutersVisa, which runs the world's largest payments network, plans to cut about 7% of its workforce as CEO Ryan McInerney moves to streamline the company and invest more in growth areas, according to a memo confirmed by CNBC.The company plans to eliminate roughly 2,600 positions, mostly in its technology and product operations, according to the memo. CNBC confirmed the contents of the memo, which was reported earlier by Bloomberg, with a person with direct knowledge of the matter.Impacted employees will start to be contacted on Tuesday for next steps and transition assistance, said the person."To capture the opportunities ahead and best position Visa to lead this transformation, we must continue evolving how we work," McInerney wrote. "AI is also helping to accelerate this evolution and shape the way work gets done at Visa."The layoffs come as companies across the financial and technology sectors increasingly use artificial intelligence to automate technical work like software development, while seeking to rein in costs after years...