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

Thursday, February 26, 2026

Its CEO said most companies will do the same

New York
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Block, the company behind Square, Cash App and Afterpay, is cutting its staff by 40%. The reason: "intelligence tools," according to a letter to shareholders by co-founder Jack Dorsey.

Dorsey thinks most companies will follow suit in the near future.

The company is laying off more than 4,000 people, reducing the workforce to just under 6,000.

Posted by Corky at 10:13 PM | 4 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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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 | Reply

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 | Reply

- 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 | Reply

"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."

www.google.com

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