NEW YORK, USA — Block, Inc., the financial technology firm behind Square, Cash App and Afterpay, is cutting roughly 40% of its workforce, with co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey citing rapid advances in artificial intelligence as the driving force behind the move.
Okay News learned that the company is eliminating more than 4,000 roles, reducing its headcount to just under 6,000 employees. In a letter to shareholders, Dorsey said “intelligence tools” now enable significantly smaller teams to operate more efficiently, adding that the capabilities of AI systems are improving at an accelerating pace.
Dorsey argued that most companies will soon reach a similar conclusion. He wrote that within a year, the majority of firms are likely to implement comparable structural changes, suggesting Block is acting proactively rather than reactively.
Chief Financial Officer Amrita Ahuja echoed the rationale in financial guidance, stating that the company sees an opportunity to move faster with smaller, highly skilled teams while automating more tasks through AI.
In a post on X, Dorsey maintained that the layoffs were not the result of financial distress, noting that gross profit continues to grow. He said the decision was aimed at aligning the company’s structure with the productivity gains made possible by AI, rather than gradually reducing staff over an extended period.
Block’s workforce had expanded significantly during the pandemic-era surge in demand for digital services, growing from fewer than 4,000 employees at the end of 2019 to more than 10,000 prior to the cuts. The retrenchment mirrors broader trends across the technology sector, where companies including Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft have trimmed payrolls amid shifting strategies around automation and efficiency.
Investors responded positively to the announcement, sending Block’s shares up as much as 24% following the news.
The layoffs come amid heightened debate about AI’s long-term impact on employment, as firms such as Anthropic and OpenAI continue rolling out increasingly capable enterprise tools. Dorsey’s move signals a growing willingness among tech executives to aggressively restructure operations around AI-driven productivity gains, even as concerns mount about broader labor market disruption.
