Financial technology company Block announced it will reduce its workforce by more than 4,000 employees, nearly 40 percent of its staff, as part of a strategic shift toward artificial intelligence and a leaner organizational structure. The decision lowers headcount from more than 10,000 employees to just under 6,000. Chief executive Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, shared details of the restructuring in a public message on X, describing it as “one of the hardest decisions in the history of our company.”
In his statement, Dorsey said the layoffs are not driven by financial distress. He noted that gross profit continues to grow, the company is serving more customers, and profitability is improving. “We’re not making this decision because we’re in trouble,” Dorsey wrote. “Our business is strong.” Instead, he framed the move as a response to structural changes enabled by AI. According to Dorsey, the company’s internally developed “intelligence tools,” combined with smaller and flatter teams, are reshaping how work is done and how companies are built and operated.
“We’re already seeing that the intelligence tools we’re creating and using, paired with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new way of working which fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company. And that’s accelerating rapidly,” he stated. Dorsey said he faced two options: gradually reducing staff over months or years, or implementing a single, large-scale reduction. He chose the latter, arguing that repeated rounds of layoffs would undermine morale, focus and trust among customers and shareholders.
Risks
Employees affected by the cuts will receive 20 weeks of salary plus one additional week per year of tenure. Equity will vest through the end of May, and departing staff will receive six months of healthcare coverage. U.S.-based employees will also retain their corporate devices and receive $5,000 in transition support. Comparable packages will be provided internationally, adjusted to local requirements.
All employees were to be notified on the same day whether they were being asked to leave, entering consultation processes, or remaining with the company. Dorsey acknowledged the scale of the decision and its risks. “A decision at this scale carries risk. But so does standing still,” he wrote, adding that the company conducted a full review to determine which roles are required to support future growth. He also stated that internal communication channels would remain open through Thursday evening Pacific Time to allow employees to say goodbye, and that he would host a live video session to address staff directly.
Market
Following the announcement, Block’s share price rose sharply in after-hours trading. Investors appeared to respond positively to the company’s cost-reduction strategy and its positioning around AI-enabled operations. Block, which operates payment services, merchant tools and financial applications, has increasingly emphasized automation and AI capabilities across its product portfolio. The restructuring marks one of the most significant workforce reductions in the company’s history and reflects a broader trend across the technology sector, where firms are reconfiguring operations around AI-driven productivity gains.
In his message to employees who will remain, Dorsey said he takes responsibility for the decision and called on staff to help rebuild the company around AI as a foundational capability. “We’re going to build this company with intelligence at the core of everything we do. How we work, how we create, how we serve our customers,” he wrote. He also indicated that customers will experience this shift, describing a future in which they can compose features directly using Block’s capabilities and interfaces.
To employees leaving the company, Dorsey expressed appreciation for their contributions, stating that the decision was not a reflection of individual performance. This action is one of the most prominent examples of a technology company explicitly linking large-scale workforce reductions to the accelerating impact of AI on internal operations and organizational design.
we’re making @blocks smaller today. here’s my note to the company.
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today we’re making one of the hardest decisions in the history of our company: we’re reducing our organization by nearly half, from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000. that means over 4,000 of you are…
— jack (@jack) February 26, 2026
