Block's AI-driven layoffs lift stock as Jack Dorsey frames workforce reset
Jack Dorsey's announcement that block will cut more than 4, 000 of its 10, 000-plus employees and reconfigure around artificial intelligence sent the company's shares sharply higher, underscoring how executives are tying personnel moves to new technology. The CEO framed the reduction as a shift to a smaller team using intelligence tools in a letter to shareholders and in a post on X.
Shares surge after Dorsey links cuts directly to AI
Block's stock jumped more than 20% in premarket trading on Friday after the CEO disclosed the layoffs and the company's pivot toward AI. The shares had gained 5% on Thursday to $54. 53 ahead of earnings and then shot up to nearly $69 in after-hours trading. The mobile payments services provider also reported that fourth-quarter gross profit jumped 24% from a year earlier.
Dorsey says intelligence tools change how a company is run
In a letter to shareholders, Jack Dorsey wrote, "The core thesis is simple. Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company. " He added, "A significantly smaller team, using the tools we're building, can do more and do it better. " Those comments were posted on X, or Twitter, which he co-founded, and were explicit in naming AI as a key driver behind the workforce move.
Scope of cuts, support for departing employees and uncertain locations
The company will lay off more than 4, 000 of its more than 10, 000 employees and Dorsey outlined various ways the company will support those laid off. He noted that for employees overseas the terms might differ. It was unclear in the provided context which employees would be laid off where.
Block's footprint and company history underline the global reach of the cuts
A global technology company founded in 2009 and based in San Francisco, Block is the parent company to online payment platforms such as Square and Cash App and operates in the United States, Canada, parts of Europe, Australia and Japan. The company's size and international presence mean the announced reductions touch multiple regions even as the exact distribution of cuts remains unclear in the provided context.
Analysts, market reaction and layoffs elsewhere
Analysts said the assertion that the job cuts will add to Block's profitability and efficiency prompted investors to buy. Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management commented, "For years, we have debated whether AI would dent jobs at the margin. Now we have a public case study in which the CEO explicitly says that intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company. " Innes also noted that other large employers have announced tens of thousands of cuts in recent months and that some downplayed the AI link; "Block did not, " he said.
Where the story came from and a historical image detail
The announcement and market movements were carried in an article datelined Bangkok that named Elaine Kurtenbach, Konstantin Toropin and Matt O'Brien of the. The article also included a photo note identifying Jack Dorsey as Square's CEO in 2015 on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, with the image credited to photographer Richard Drew.
Layoffs by American companies remain at relatively healthy levels overall, but the job cuts at Block are the latest among thousands announced in recent months. A number of other high-profile companies that have announced layoffs recently include UPS, Amazon, Dow and the Washington Post.
