In a move that has sent shockwaves through the fintech sector, Jack Dorsey has announced that Block is cutting its workforce by nearly half, shedding more than 4,000 jobs in a single day. The Twitter co-founder and Block CEO informed staff that the company would shrink from over 10,000 employees to just under 6,000.
Writing in a candid post on X, Dorsey described the move as one of the "hardest decisions" in the company’s history. However, he was quick to add that the layoffs are not indicative of any financial trouble. Rather, he said that the company is “strong” and that the layoffs are a proactive measure to revamp the way the company operates in the age of AI.
According to Dorsey, the rise of "intelligence tools" has made large, bloated corporate structures redundant. He believes that smaller, flatter teams — powered by the very tools Block is building — are the future of the industry. "I’d rather take a hard, clear action now and build from a position we believe in than manage a slow reduction," he wrote, explaining his preference for one major cut over a series of morale-sapping smaller rounds.
The severance package for those leaving is relatively substantial: affected staff will receive 20 weeks of pay, plus an extra week for every year they’ve been with the firm. They will also keep their corporate devices and receive $5,000 transition payment, with health insurance covered for six months.
In a departure from the typical "efficient and cold" Silicon Valley exit, where employees are locked out of their emails within minutes, Dorsey promised to keep communication channels like Slack open until Thursday evening so colleagues could say their goodbyes. "I’d rather it feel awkward and human," he noted.
For those remaining at the firm — which owns household names like Square and Cash App — the mandate is clear. Dorsey intends to rebuild Block with "intelligence at the core," moving away from traditional service models towards a more automated, tool-based ecosystem. While he acknowledged the massive scale of the gamble, he insisted that "standing still" was the greater risk.
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