Block, Inc. will cut its workforce by nearly half, eliminating more than 4,000 jobs, as CEO Jack Dorsey said the financial technology company is restructuring around artificial intelligence and smaller teams.
Wall Street welcomes Jack Dorsey’s AI restructuring
In a memo shared publicly, Jack Dorsey said the company would go from more than 10,000 employees to just under 6,000. He described the move as “one of the most difficult decisions in our company’s history,” adding that affected employees would be notified the same day.
Despite the scale of the layoffs, Dorsey emphasized that Block was not facing financial difficulties. He said gross profit continues to grow, customer numbers are increasing and profitability is improving.
Instead, he framed these reductions as a proactive change driven by rapidly evolving intelligence tools that are reshaping how businesses are built and operated.
“We are already seeing that the intelligence tools we create and use, coupled with smaller, flatter teams, enable a new way of working,” Dorsey wrote, saying that acting decisively now would avoid repeated rounds of layoffs that could damage morale and trust.
Employees who leave the company will receive 20 weeks of salary plus an additional week per year of seniority, the acquisition of shares until the end of May, six months of health coverage, their company devices and $5,000 in transition assistance. Conditions vary internationally depending on local regulations.
Dorsey said internal communications channels will remain open through Thursday evening to allow departing staff to say goodbye, and he plans to host a live video session to speak directly to employees.
The market reaction to Jack Dorsey’s “leaner and meaner” approach has been nothing short of explosive. As news of 4,000 job cuts broke, shares of Block Inc. soared after hours, jumping more than 23%.
The chart reflects a dramatic vertical shift as investors moved from uncertainty to overwhelming optimism, interpreting the layoffs not as a sign of corporate distress but as a commitment to long-term profitability and AI-driven efficiency.