Block cuts ~4,000 jobs
Jack Dorsey cut nearly half of Block’s workforce — about 4,000 roles — and described the move as a bet on smaller teams using “intelligence tools” rather than a straight cost-cutting round. Wall Street rewarded the pivot: Block’s stock jumped roughly 25% on the announcement. (bloomberg.com)
Block cut more than 4,000 jobs on February 26, shrinking from more than 10,000 employees to just under 6,000. (investors.block.xyz) Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey said the cuts were not driven by weak demand, writing that Block’s business was strong and that a smaller team using the company’s own “intelligence tools” could “do more and do it better.” (investors.block.xyz) Investors focused on that message and on higher guidance. Block’s stock jumped as much as 24% in extended trading on February 26, and closed up 17% on February 27, after the company also raised its 2026 outlook. (cnbc.com) Block said fourth-quarter gross profit rose 24% year over year to $2.87 billion. It raised its 2026 targets to $12.2 billion in gross profit and $3.2 billion in adjusted operating income. (stocktitan.net) The company said it expects $450 million to $500 million in restructuring charges, mostly in the first quarter of 2026. Dorsey said Block chose one large round instead of repeated cuts because repeated layoffs damage morale and focus. (stocktitan.net; cnbc.com) Block is the parent company of Square, Cash App, Afterpay, TIDAL, Bitkey and Proto. Dorsey used the layoff letter to argue that artificial intelligence is changing how companies are organized, not just how fast employees work. (investors.block.xyz; investors.block.xyz) That argument had already been building inside Block’s products. Square announced new generative artificial intelligence features in October 2023 and expanded Square AI in October 2025 with tools that pull in business, weather, event and review data for sellers. (investors.block.xyz; investors.block.xyz) Analysts did not all read the move the same way. Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock after the announcement, while Piper Sandler kept a sell rating even as the shares surged. (cnbc.com) The result is a sharp test of a claim spreading across tech in 2026: that companies can cut layers of staff, keep growth intact, and tell Wall Street artificial intelligence is the reason. Block now has to prove that with fewer than 6,000 people running its businesses. (forbes.com; investors.block.xyz)
