Hey there,
Visa just reported one of its best quarters ever — nearly $19 billion in revenue, profits up 14%. Then they announced 2,600 layoffs anyway. Profitable companies firing tech workers because of AI isn't a warning sign anymore. It's the new playbook.
Today: Visa's record-quarter layoffs, four more market moves you need to know, and five remote-first companies still building teams.
In This Issue
🔥 The Big Story: Visa cuts 2,600 tech workers despite record $19B quarter
⚡ Quick Hits: 4 major layoff moves you need to know this week
🏢 Companies Hiring: 5 remote-first companies actively building teams
🎯 Career Signal: The hot new role the EU just made mandatory
✅ Quick Win: One 90-second alert that protects your next job offer
🔥 The Big Story This Week
Visa Cuts 2,600 Tech Workers in Its Record-Revenue Quarter
The headline. Visa reported Q3 FY2026 revenue of nearly $19 billion — up 11% year over year — and then announced 2,600 layoffs, roughly 7% of its global workforce. The bulk of the cuts hit tech and product roles. CEO Ryan McInerney linked the decision directly to AI investment and eliminating organizational complexity.
The bigger picture. This is the clearest signal yet that AI restructuring isn't coming for struggling companies — it's coming for the profitable ones making strategic bets. When a company processing $15 trillion in annual transactions starts eliminating engineers citing AI efficiency, every industry should be paying attention.
Why this matters: If you're in a tech or product role at an established company, now is the time to figure out if your role is in the efficiency column or the growth column. The growth column is a lot safer right now.
443,604
Planned US job cuts in the first half of 2026 — the second-highest H1 total since 2020. AI has been the leading cited reason for US layoffs for four consecutive months. (Challenger, Gray & Christmas)
⚡ Job Market Quick Hits
Samsung Drops 839 US Jobs in Move from New Jersey to Texas
Samsung Electronics America filed a WARN Act notice covering 739 roles at its Englewood Cliffs, NJ campus, plus roughly 100 more at its Plano, TX office. The company is relocating its US headquarters to Plano by end of 2026 — just 10 months after opening its $700 million NJ campus. Some workers got relocation offers. Many got severance. If you're in consumer electronics, check whether your company is next on the Sun Belt migration list.
BuzzFeed's New Owner Cut 35% of Staff in His First Two Months
Byron Allen completed a $120 million acquisition of BuzzFeed in May and filed an SEC 8-K confirming a 35% workforce cut — roughly 180 employees across BuzzFeed, HuffPost, Tasty, and BuzzFeed Studios. Projected annualized savings: $29–32 million. Media jobs remain high-volatility — prioritize building a skill set that travels across industries.
Monday.com Eliminated 630 Roles to Become an AI-Agent Platform
Monday.com filed a Form 6-K announcing it's cutting 630 positions — 20% of its global workforce — as it shifts from seat-based software to an AI-agent model. Estimated restructuring cost: $45–55 million. About 350 cuts are at the Tel Aviv headquarters. SaaS companies betting on AI agents are rewriting their hiring requirements — watch what roles they post next.
Magic Leap Exits the Headset Business, Cuts 193 Jobs
Magic Leap announced a strategic pivot away from first-party AR headsets to become a waveguide and optical components supplier for companies building AI display glasses. A WARN Act filing covers 193 terminations effective October 1. The company is betting the optics stack is worth more than the finished product. As AR hardware consolidates, optical engineering and display integration skills are getting scarcer — and more valuable.
🏢 Companies Hiring Right Now
The news cycle is full of layoffs. These five companies didn't get the memo — they're still growing their teams and most of their roles are remote by default.
HubSpot — 72% Remote, Hiring Across Engineering, Sales & CS
HubSpot runs one of the most remote-friendly cultures in SaaS — 72% of their open roles are fully remote. They're actively hiring across software engineering, sales, and customer success. Known for strong L&D programs and transparent career ladders.
GitLab — Fully Remote Since Day One, 65+ Countries
GitLab has been fully remote since founding — 2,500+ people across 65+ countries, no exceptions. They're hiring in engineering, product, and security. Their handbook-first culture means everything is documented publicly, which makes onboarding faster and role expectations clearer.
Automattic — Zero Offices, 1,400+ People in 83 Countries
Automattic — the company behind WordPress.com, Tumblr, and WooCommerce — runs a fully distributed model with no physical offices. More than 1,400 people in 83 countries. Their async-first culture and open-source roots make them a strong fit for self-directed remote workers.
Databricks — AI/Data Platform, 10,000+ Employees, Hybrid-Remote
Databricks is one of the fastest-growing AI and data platform companies on the market — over 10,000 employees and still scaling. They offer hybrid and remote options across engineering, sales, and support. Strong AI-adjacent culture and significant equity upside.
Shopify — "Digital by Design," ~8,000 Employees, Remote Americas
Shopify runs a "Digital by Design" model that makes remote the default for most roles across the Americas. Roughly 8,000 employees powering the e-commerce infrastructure used by millions of merchants. They hire across engineering, product, and merchant success.
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🎯 Career Signal Of The Week
AI Red Teaming Is Now a Real Job — and the EU Just Made It Mandatory
The EU AI Act reaches full enforcement on August 2 — three days from now. Every company running high-risk AI systems in Europe must now prove those systems have been tested for failure modes, safety risks, and biases. That mandate created a job title: AI Red Teamer. These are the people paid to attack AI systems on purpose — finding the prompts, edge cases, and failure modes that could cause real harm before bad actors do.
60% of organizations plan to adopt AI red teaming within 24 months. Job postings for AI safety and security roles have grown over 300% year over year. No CS degree required — security researchers, policy analysts, and adversarial thinkers are getting hired. Start searching: "AI Red Teamer," "AI Safety Evaluator," "Responsible AI Engineer," "LLM Security Researcher."
🧠 3 Skill-Building Reads
AI is changing the job market faster than credentials can keep up. These three free tools help you close the gap.
Anthropic Academy — Free AI Courses Directly From the Builders
Free courses on prompt engineering and practical AI skills from Anthropic, the team building Claude. Fast track to AI fluency on your resume without paying for a bootcamp
O*NET OnLine — The DOL's Career Exploration Database
Search any job title and get required skills, median salary, growth outlook, and daily tasks — all from the US Department of Labor. Underrated for career pivots and salary benchmarking before your next negotiation.
DOL TEAMS Salary Negotiation Guide (Free PDF)
The Department of Labor's free guide to salary negotiation: how to research market pay, frame counteroffers, and close without losing the offer. Built for transitioning veterans, useful for everyone in a competitive job market.
✅ Quick Win For Job Seekers
Set a 90-second Google Alert that protects your next job offer.
Open Google Alerts and create two alerts for every company you're actively interviewing with: "[company name] + SEC filing" and "[company name] + WARN notice." These filings are public and often surface days before layoff news hits the press. 90 seconds of setup could save you from accepting an offer into a company mid-restructuring. Set it up for your top three target companies tonight.
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What we're watching: The EU AI Act's August 2 enforcement deadline arrives in three days. Watch for a wave of AI governance, compliance, and safety job postings in the 30–60 days that follow — and a scramble to hire people who actually understand what "high-risk AI system" means.
🎯 Bottom Line This Week
Visa cut 2,600 tech workers in the same quarter it generated $19 billion in revenue. That's the market telling you: AI restructuring is now a strategic move, not a distress signal. Every established company with an AI roadmap is quietly asking the same question Visa just answered publicly.
The roles surviving this wave require what AI can't easily replace: red-teaming the models, navigating compliance regimes, and making judgment calls with incomplete information. AI Red Teaming is a real career path now, and the EU just created massive demand for it overnight.
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