We welcome you to JobBank USA and hope your job hunting experience
is a pleasant one. We hope you find our resources useful.
November 22, 2006
Visa is planning to cut 200 positions nationwide and reduce its reliance on in-house contractors as it outsources work and cuts costs ahead of its planned initial public offering in the next year or so.
It's the latest sign of how different life will be for Visa and its employees as the organization shifts from being owned by member-financial institutions to one owned by public shareholders focused on quarterly results and prompt disclosures of material events.
"As the nature of our business evolves and competition increases, Inovant LLC, Visa's global information-technology organization, must continue to address its organizational structure and business model to ensure that it is as efficient, flexible and competitive as possible," Visa said in a statement issued in response to the San Francisco Business Times inquiring about the layoffs. "As a result, the company plans to eliminate 200 positions and reduce its reliance on in-house contractors.
"In addition, the company plans to increase utilization of outside staffing resources under fixed-rate contracts to assist with development and maintenance activities," the company said.
"We believe these actions, while difficult to undertake, are in the best interests of Inovant, the services it provides to the Visa regions, and the long-term competitiveness and success of the enterprise," the company's statement said.
Visa officials did not address the timing of the layoffs or severance details. Visa said the layoffs are not connected to the company's future IPO plans.
Separately, Visa said Tuesday that U.S. sales volume on its cards is up 11.1 percent, to $350.3 billion, in the third quarter.
The volume figures reflect a strong quarter for Visa card usage, but don't necessarily reflect the company's financial performance for the period. As a privately held business, Visa does not disclose figures relating to revenue and profitability.
In the third quarter, consumer credit rose 6.8 percent to $154.3 billion from the year-ago period.
Other third-quarter highlights Visa Signature volume rising 16.8 percent growth, to $34 billion. Visa Signature is the company's card designed for consumers with household incomes of $125,000 or more.
Visa Business products registered growth of 24.1 percent year-over-year to $29.4 billion, driven by the use of credit and debit cards by small businesses for integrated reporting, cash flow management and rewards.
Visa increased its overall acceptance in the United States to 6.4 million merchant locations, an increase of 6.1 percent over the same period last year.
Sales volume reflects consumer and business spending on all Visa-branded products for which Visa is compensated by member financial institutions. Sales volume excludes cash disbursements obtained with Visa cards, balance transfers or convenience checks. Generally, these transactions do not flow through Visa's network or earn revenues for the company.
"The growth in Visa-branded volume this quarter reflects the strength and value of our network, the diversity of our product offerings and the trust that our customers place in Visa,'' said John Philip Coghlan, president and CEO of Visa USA.
Email This Page!