Capital One Financial is laying off an undisclosed number of employees in its flagship U.S. credit card business.
The McLean, Va.-based company said the layoffs are part of a restructuring initiative that will make the company more nimble and enable decisions to be made more quickly. The layoffs come at a time when Capital One says that its investments in digital technology are yielding efficiency gains.
“Any change that impacts our associates is difficult, and this decision wasn’t taken lightly,” a Capital One spokesman said in an email Friday. “We have a talented workforce and are fully committed to helping them through this change.”
Capital One would not disclose where the jobs being eliminated are based. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that the positions
In Capital One’s July 2017 earnings call, CEO Richard Fairbank said that the company was in the midst of a “digital transformation.”
He explained that the biggest motivator for the card issuer’s technology investments is to give customers better experiences, but added that Capital One is “increasingly reaping important, sizable benefits in efficiency.”
In addition to the layoffs, Capital One is assigning new responsibilities to some of its employees, according to the company spokesman.
Employees whose jobs will be cut are being encouraged to seek other open positions within Capital One.
“We’re providing extensive resources and transition assistance to impacted associates,” the spokesman said. “Those associates who are not hired into another internal Capital One role will be eligible to receive a severance package, including retraining assistance and outplacement services.”
