Block Lays Off Nearly Half It's Staff Because of AI | Drudge Retort

Friday, February 27, 2026

Block Lays Off Nearly Half It's Staff Because of AI

Its CEO said most companies will do the same

Posted by Corky at 06:30 PM | 17 COMMENTS | permalink

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Shares in the financial technology company Block have soared more than 20% in after-hours trading after its CEO announced it was laying off more than 4,000 of its 10,000-some employees due to efficiency gains from artificial intelligence.

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-- The Associated Press (@apnews.com) Feb 27, 2026 at 1:30 AM

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"Investors have reacted well to the gutting of jobs. Block's shares soared up to 24% after the announcement.

The cuts come amid rising concerns about how AI will impact the workforce as AI giants like Anthropic and OpenAI continue to push out new enterprise tools. Just this week, Anthropic updated its popular Claude model to perform better at office jobs in human resource, design and wealth management.

Software stocks cratered earlier this month after Anthropic launched updates to its Claude Cowork tool.

Dorsey's decision also reflects a growing sentiment among tech leaders to operate more leanly as AI evolves.

Amazon said it needed "fewer layers" to "operate as quickly as possible," calling AI is the "most transformative technology we've seen since the internet" in a memo from October announcing layoffs."

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The Tribulation, the Great Tribulation.

#1 | Posted by Corky at 2026-02-26 10:17 PM

Dorsey's decision also reflects a growing sentiment among tech leaders to operate more leanly as AI evolves.

Has nothing to do with AI, Jack over built Twitter, he over built Block, he might be a good innovator but a terrible CEO.
Block went from 3,700 employees in Dec. 2019 to 12,200 employees in Dec. 2022.

#2 | Posted by oneironaut at 2026-02-26 10:23 PM

- nothing to do with AI

You are a walking, talking joke... you realize that, don't you?

#3 | Posted by Corky at 2026-02-26 10:30 PM

"AI-related job cuts are accelerating in 2026, with Reuters reporting that AI accounted for 7% of total planned layoffs in January.

Over 7,600 jobs were directly attributed to AI in January 2026 alone, as companies like Block Inc. and others restructure to prioritize automation."

#4 | Posted by Corky at 2026-02-26 10:35 PM

You are a walking, talking joke... you realize that, don't you?
#3 | Posted by Corky

In this case, he's not wrong.

I've read more than a few analyses that the AI firing waves are just AI as an excuse to fire people without cause.

Why else would company after company fire large swaths of workers for systems/tools that nearly every other company that has already implemented them regret implementing them?

#5 | Posted by jpw at 2026-02-27 09:36 AM

#5 | Posted by jpw

solid post !!

but be careful not agreeing with corky...

she can get irritated easily.

--it's a senior citizen female hormone thing..

#6 | Posted by shrimptacodan at 2026-02-27 11:37 AM

^She plonked me. Over and over. Now I got ptsd and am scared of ------s.

#7 | Posted by john_savage2 at 2026-02-27 06:53 PM

There is no "cure" for capitalism, it lies through its teeth so that it can turn Americans into frightened indentured servants to be fired at will when a robot or piece of software can do their jobs. If you trust Musk or Trump or any of the MAGA billionaires, and you are poor...you are a fool. Soon America will be too bankrupt to fund fully social security or Medicare, that is the absolute truth.

#8 | Posted by Hughmass at 2026-02-28 07:13 AM

"I've read more than a few analyses that the AI firing waves are just AI as an excuse to fire people without cause."

Seems like a pretty good excuse if you are a bean counter.

If you can now do the work of 10,000 with only 3000 (and the help of AI) then why wouldn't you use that as an excuse!?

Now is the time to fire them so that you don't have to pay to the costs to retrain them. As I suspect laws will be passed at some point sooner or later to force companies to help the humans whose jobs are being permanently eliminated by AI.

#9 | Posted by donnerboy at 2026-02-28 09:43 AM

AI is designed to replace people, especially software people.
AI industry lays off software people.
How could this happen?!

#10 | Posted by john_savage2 at 2026-02-28 01:33 PM

There is no "cure" for capitalism, it lies through its teeth so that it can turn Americans into frightened indentured servants to be fired at will when a robot or piece of software can do their jobs. If you trust Musk or Trump or any of the MAGA billionaires, and you are poor...you are a fool. Soon America will be too bankrupt to fund fully social security or Medicare, that is the absolute truth.

#8 | POSTED BY HUGHMASS AT 2026-02-28 07:13 AM | REPLY:

Really? Now how about you tell us just what socialism does for the 'masses/Hoi Polloi'.

#11 | Posted by MSgt at 2026-02-28 01:51 PM

There is no "cure" for capitalism, it lies through its teeth so that it can turn Americans into frightened indentured servants to be fired at will when a robot or piece of software can do their jobs. If you trust Musk or Trump or any of the MAGA billionaires, and you are poor...you are a fool. Soon America will be too bankrupt to fund fully social security or Medicare, that is the absolute truth.

#8 | POSTED BY HUGHMASS AT 2026-02-28 07:13 AM | REPLY:

Really? Now how about you tell us just what socialism does for the 'masses/Hoi Polloi'.

#12 | Posted by MSgt at 2026-02-28 01:51 PM

Education
Social Safety Net
Infrastructure
Police
Fire Departments

I can go on, but I suspect you won't get it

#13 | Posted by truthhurts at 2026-02-28 02:01 PM

Education
Social Safety Net
Infrastructure
Police
Fire Departments

I can go on, but I suspect you won't get it

#13 | POSTED BY TRUTHHURTS AT 2026-02-28 02:01 PM | REPLY
Funny as I thought we already had those under capitalism and as for education, well the liberal dem Dept Of Ed [when the dems were running that], the liberal teachers unions and the liberal teachers screwed that up royally, have they not?

#14 | Posted by MSgt at 2026-03-01 05:17 PM

The question is what has socialism give us. Those are just a few examples.

I don't expect you to understand. You're not very intelligent.

#15 | Posted by truthhurts at 2026-03-01 05:37 PM

as for education, well
#14 | Posted by MSgt

So you're figuring out we don't have education under Capitalism.

The next step,
One you have already taken,
Is deciding that education isn't really that important after all.

#16 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-03-01 05:44 PM

The next step,
One you have already taken,
Is deciding that education isn't really that important after all.

#16 | Posted by snoofy a

Just enough education to operate the machine not enough to understand the oppression.

#17 | Posted by truthhurts at 2026-03-01 06:25 PM

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