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First Data jettisons 500 jobs in Denver

December 4, 2013

Beleaguered payment processor First Data has eliminated more than 550 positions in its Denver office. The company has said that an unspecified number of Denver employees will move to other locations, however, the majority are being terminated. 

An article at WSJ online said that the move is just one more reduction in a workforce that has shrunk from 29,000 to about 23,500 since 2007, when the company was purchased by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. for $29 billion. Currently, First Data is carrying approximately $23 billion in recently restructured debt, the article said.

According to CU Times, the company did not make a formal announcement of the cuts, but a spokesperson did make a statement to the publication about plans to bring the company's fortunes about:

First Data is transforming itself into a more client-focused, efficient and innovation-driven company. This evolution includes returning the company to profitability and  better leveraging our assets to help our clients grow their businesses. Another part of the evolution will be in how we do business: driving collaboration with our clients, innovating new solutions, and facilitating incubation of new technologies with startup companies.

Two weeks ago, the company announced a partnership with Oberthur Technologies to support and promote EMV in the United States. 

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