US payments giant Mastercard is cutting its global workforce by around 3% according to Bloomberg, though this does not seem to spell troubled times for the company if recent activity is anything to go by.
The business news outlet reports that the job cuts amount to around 3,000 people, based on the firm’s current headcount of 33,400. It is unclear which areas the job losses will affect, though a Mastercard spokesperson told Bloomberg that the cuts will be complete by 30 September.
“We recently announced organisational changes, realigning the regions and businesses to accelerate growth and unlock capacity that will enable investment in long-term opportunities,” the Mastercard spokesperson said.
Although job losses don’t always make for the best headlines, Mastercard does not appear to be facing any business troubles over the past year. The company, alongside its main rival Visa, is one of the global market leaders in card issuing and is a dominant force in the international payments industry.
According to its 2023 financial report, Mastercard registered full year revenue of £25.1bn, operating income of $14bn and net income of $11.19bn. All three figures represented growth on the group’s year prior performance.
The first six months of this year have seen the firm remain committed to entering new partnerships and overhauling its existing products. Open Banking and artificial intelligence (AI) are two notable areas of investment for the company, whilst it has also been upping its efforts in cryptocurrency and blockchain.
It seems, therefore, that money is not an issue for Mastercard. The firm’s investments in core product and marketing spend seem to indicate this at least – in the case of the latter, it recently entered a new sponsorship deal with the McLaren F1 team. The spokesperson’s comments to Bloomberg suggest the cuts are part of an organisational plan, as opposed to a cost reduction one.
The layoffs do buck a trend seen lately, however, in which some fintech and finance stakeholders have stepped up recruitment efforts. AI in particular is a key focus for some firms, with many banks keen to ensure access to the right talent pool as they look to expand capabilities in this area.
