Block cuts 4,000 jobs citing AI-led shift

Fintech firm Block is cutting nearly half its workforce, reducing headcount from over 10,000 to just under 6,000, as it moves to sharply improve efficiency after rapid expansion during the pandemic years.

In a note to employees, Block co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey said the company over-hired during Covid after he incorrectly built two parallel company structures instead of a single integrated one, an issue that was corrected only in mid-2024. Since then, Block has also taken on significant operational complexity through lending, banking and buy-now-pay-later businesses, stretching teams and management layers. Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, stressed the downsizing does not reflect weakness in the business. Gross profit continues to rise, customer adoption is growing, and profitability is improving. However, efficiency remained flat at around $500,000 in gross profit per employee from 2019 through 2024, despite the larger organisation.

Block is now targeting more than $2 million in gross profit per employee, four times its pre-Covid efficiency, by operating with smaller, flatter teams and embedding intelligence tools across how products are built and run. “We have and do run an efficient company,” Dorsey wrote, adding that the new structure would make it “better than most.” More than 4,000 employees will exit or enter consultation, with severance including 20 weeks of pay, additional tenure-based compensation, extended healthcare, equity vesting and transition support. Dorsey said he chose a decisive one-time cut over prolonged reductions, acknowledging the risk but arguing that standing still posed a greater one as the company resets for its next phase.