Pic credit: Reuters
Fiserv has cut its employee and contractor workforce by 3,000 since June, with the reductions reaching deep into the company’s leadership, Reuters reported. The senior management team also took a hit, with a reduction of more than 10% under Georgakopoulos. Fiserv had more than 38,000 employees worldwide as of 31 December 2025, so the latest round affects a significant part of the workforce. Project Elevate now aims to save $1 billion, up from $500 million. The change comes after activist investor Jana Partners urged the company to target $1.25 billion in savings.
“We are pursuing a number of initiatives to simplify the organisation and operate more efficiently, including Project Elevate,” Fiserv said in a statement. The same call brought a bigger savings goal, a plan to shed smaller products and a set of numbers that investors had to weigh quickly. The company did not link the cuts to a single division. The programme also underpins the company’s savings target. Fiserv has doubled its original goal, although it has stopped short of Jana Partners’ target.
Chief Executive Takis Georgakopoulos shared the figures on an earnings call on Tuesday.
Fiserv reported adjusted earnings of $1.75 per share, slightly ahead of the $1.72 analysts had expected. Revenue fell 1% to $4.85 billion in the third quarter.
Management said the company had moved past its weakest revenue period, which was the second quarter. The company has said Project Elevate will require continued spending before the savings fully show up in its accounts. Meanwhile, shares have risen in pre-market trading following the news, a sign that investors liked the direction. Still, a cost target is a promise, not a result. Fiserv will need to prove that the cuts leave it stronger, not just smaller.