Update (Feb. 27, 1:25 AM UTC): This article has been updated with more information on Block’s job cuts and earnings results.
Jack Dorsey’s payments company Block will cut roughly 40% of its workforce in a major restructuring that Dorsey attributed to the rapid acceleration of AI at the company. In a company letter shared on X, Dorsey said intelligence tools paired with smaller, flatter teams are “enabling a new way of working which fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company,” and that he chose to act now rather than cut gradually over months or years.
Dorsey said Block employs just over 10,000 people and that just under 6,000 will remain after the reductions, meaning about 4,000 roles will be eliminated. Affected employees will receive 20 weeks of salary plus one additional week for each year of tenure, six months of health care coverage, their corporate devices and an extra $5,000 for personal needs. Employees were to be notified the day of the announcement if they were losing their jobs or entering consultation.
Bloomberg had earlier reported that up to 10% of Block’s workforce could be eliminated during annual performance reviews as part of a broader restructuring. Dorsey said the current round followed a “full review” and pressure test, and predicted many other companies will make similar structural changes as intelligence tools change how companies are built and run.
Block’s headcount expanded rapidly in recent years. Financial data from Macrotrends estimates Block had about 3,835 employees in 2019 and peaked at roughly 12,985 in 2023, a 237% increase over four years.
Going forward, Dorsey said Block will prioritize streamlined operations powered by AI automation to accelerate product output and focus on enabling users to build their own features on the platform.
The announcement came alongside Block’s Q4 2025 earnings. The company reported a gross profit of $2.87 billion, up 24% year-over-year, and Cash App revenue rose 33% year-over-year to $1.83 billion. Block’s stock (XYZ) jumped more than 31% at market open to $96.58 from a prior close of $73.65.
