Card company Visa plans to cut 200 jobs and reduce its reliance on inhouse contractors as it outsources more work and pares back costs. News of the lay offs at the company's Inovant IT arm comes less than a week after Visa International confirmed the sudden departure of CEO Christopher Rodrigues.
The card company confirmed the 200 job cuts in response to an inquiry by the San Francisco Business Times.
"As the nature of our business evolves and competition increases, Inovant LLC, Visa's global information-technology organisation, must continue to address its organisational structure and business model to ensure that it is as efficient, flexible and competitive as possible," Visa said in a statement.
"In addition, the company plans to increase utilization of outside staffing resources under fixed-rate contracts to assist with development and maintenance activities," the card scheme said.
Visa told the paper that the lay-offs were not related to the company's flotation next year.
News of the restructuring comes just days after Visa reported that CEO Christopher Rodrigues had quit the company to pursue interests in travel and tourism. His departure comes a month after learning that he wouldn't be expected to helm the business post-IPO.
Rodrigues joined Visa in June 2004 from UK mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley, where he was also chief executive.
Ken Sommer, Visa International's chief administrative officer, will take on Rodrigues' responsibilities as the company prepares to go public.