Payment processing giant Fiserv pared more employees in recent weeks as the company, like other U.S. businesses, seeks to adjust to worldwide economic turmoil.

Fiserv “recently made staffing adjustments that impact a small percentage” of the company’s employees, said Ann Cave, a spokesperson for the company, in confirming the worker cuts.

Cave declined to say how many employees at the Brookfield, Wisconsin company were impacted, or to provide their locations. "Our overall employee number remains the same at about 44,000,” Cave said. Those affected “have the opportunity to apply for other roles,” and can access outplacement services and severance, she added.

A former Fiserv engineering employee who was let go on Oct. 6 said there were a handful of staffers dismissed the same day. The former employee didn’t know how many workers overall were cut. The former employee also noted that the manager stressed that the decision wasn’t related to individual performance.

In July, the company confirmed it made cuts in the first half of the year and shouldered higher severance expenses. During the company’s second-quarter earnings conference call in July, CEO Frank Bisignano and Chief Financial Officer Bob Hau cited higher costs due to inflation as a reason for lowering the rate at which they expect Fiserv’s profit margin to expand this year.

State disclosure requirements didn’t show any sign of the cuts. For instance, states where Fiserv has a large presence – Wisconsin, Georgia and New Jersey – included no submissions from the company online under their Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices recently filed by the company. 

The company’s margin expectation for 2022 “could prove modestly challenging to achieve,” considering expenses, inflation and worsening foreign exchange trends, Bank of America Equity Research analyst Jason Kupferberg said in a note sent to investors Monday. Fiserv is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings results Oct. 27.

Some workers have taken the company up on offers to relocate to New Jersey to work at Fiserv’s soon-to-open Berkeley Heights, New Jersey campus, the former engineering employee said. The ex-employee, however, was not given that option last week. 

The former employee said the company has shifted away from allowing employees to work remotely, cutting some of those who don’t live near a central office. “Anyone who works from home and cannot get into an office pretty much has a big bulls-eye on their back,” the ex-employee said.

Cave didn't respond to questions asking about the company’s policy with regard to remote employees. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies allowed employees to work remotely in response to the deadly virus.

Fiserv has focused on the development of the Berkeley Heights campus, where it’s adding about 2,000 mostly tech jobs. Fiserv was granted a tax credit award by the board of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority in September 2021 as financial support for the expansion.

Since its major acquisition of First Data in 2019, Fiserv has sought to consolidate its office locations in favor of several “hubs.” Company documents have referred to Berkeley Heights and Atlanta as two of the hubs. The company has closed about 100 locations since the acquisition, according to documents provided to the agency.

Under its agreement with New Jersey, the state provided $109.2 million in tax credits over seven years. As part of that award, Fiserv said it would maintain 1,119 New Jersey jobs and create 1,927 new jobs. That agency didn't respond to questions regarding the Fiserv agreement.

By Caitlin Mullen on Oct 11, 2022
Original link