Fintech company Block, led by Jack Dorsey, announced Thursday it would cut more than 4,000 jobs, representing roughly 40% of its global workforce, citing the impact of artificial intelligence on the future of work. The decision comes as the company, parent to Square and Cash App, reported a gross profit of over $10 billion in 2025, a 17% increase year-over-year.
The layoffs, impacting employees across the organization, are slated to be completed by the end of the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. As of December, Block employed 10,205 people worldwide, according to the company’s annual report. The announcement sent Block’s stock price surging more than 23% in after-hours trading.
Dorsey, in a post on X, the social media platform he also co-founded, stated the cuts were not a response to financial difficulties. “We’re already seeing that the intelligence tools we’re creating and using, paired with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new way of working which fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company,” he wrote. He explained he opted for immediate, substantial cuts rather than a prolonged series of smaller reductions, believing the latter to be detrimental to employee morale and trust.
“Repeated rounds of cuts are destructive to morale, to focus, and to the trust that customers and shareholders place in our ability to lead,” Dorsey told employees. “I’d rather take a hard, clear action now and build from a position we believe in than manage a unhurried reduction of people toward the same outcome.”
Block’s move follows similar workforce reductions at other major tech companies. Amazon, for example, announced in January it would lay off 16,000 employees as part of an effort to streamline operations. Block previously reduced its workforce in 2025, cutting 931 jobs, or 8% of its staff, citing performance and strategic considerations. Although, Dorsey indicated at the time that AI was not a primary driver of those cuts.
The increasing adoption of AI tools capable of performing tasks previously handled by human employees – including coding and text generation – has fueled anxiety among workers about potential job automation. Dorsey acknowledged this concern in his message to staff.
The company plans to hold a live video session with employees to address questions and concerns. Dorsey also noted that employee email and Slack access would remain active until Thursday evening to allow for farewells among colleagues. “I recognize doing it this way might perceive awkward,” he said. “I’d rather it feel awkward and human than efficient and cold.”
