Credit-card issuer American Express announced plans Wednesday to restructure its management, reduce jobs and cut $1 billion in costs over the next two years.br Shares of American Express rose 43 cents, or 0.8, to $53.61 Wednesday.br Shares have lost about a third of their value over the past year.br American Express' restructuring comes amid a difficult time for the company, as it not only competes with Visa and MasterCard, but also faster-growing non-conventional payment companies like PayPal and Square.