Fiserv Cuts Staff amid Worsening Economic Condition

The worldwide payments processor Fiserv cut its workforce in recent months as its profit margin came under pressure from a worsening economic climate.

The reductions became evident last week when the company, led by CEO Frank Bisignano, disclosed increased costs for severance agreements. Also, a list in a disclosure notice prepared on July 12 showed that about 40 employees at its Fiserv Technology Services unit were eligible for termination with severance payments.

When asked about recent employee cuts, Fiserv Spokesperson Ann Cave confirmed the Brookfield, Wisconsin-based company has made some.

"We regularly evaluate our staffing needs in support of new and ongoing strategies, and have recently made adjustments that impact a small percentage of our global workforce," Cave said in a July 27 email. She noted employees affected "have the opportunity to apply for other roles," and can access outplacement services and severance.

Macroeconomic headwinds, including inflation and higher interest rates, have added to payments companies' challenges in recent months. In the wake of those difficulties, many have shed workers, including digital payments pioneer PayPal and buy now-pay later provider Klarna, which have each cut employees.

A former Fiserv employee said 38 people in the Fiserv Technology Services business unit were laid off at the end of June. Fiserv told that employee the cut was part of broader budget cuts. Cave declined to comment Wednesday on any specific reductions.

Some employees have been told they can relocate to Fiserv's soon-to-open Berkeley Heights, New Jersey campus, the former employee said. 

At that location, it's adding 2,000 mostly tech jobs "in alignment with the company's strategy to bring people together in large strategic hub locations to inspire innovation and collaboration," the company said in a Sept. 2021 press release.

Source: Payments Dive