Jack Dorsey said it is “one of the hardest decisions in the history of our company” (File)
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Summary is AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed
* Jack Dorsey-led Block will cut over 4,000 jobs, nearly half its workforce
* The company cited AI tools enabling smaller teams to work more efficiently
* Block’s business remains strong with growing profit and expanding customer base
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Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey-led Block on Thursday said it will cut over 4,000 jobs, or nearly half its workforce, amid an AI boom.
“Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company. We’re already seeing it internally. A significantly smaller team, using the tools, can do more and do it better,” Dorsey said in a statement.
“I don’t think we’re early to this realisation. I think most companies are late,” he added.
In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Dorsey said he has made “one of the hardest decisions in the history of our company”.
He also said that they are not making the decision because they’re in trouble.
“Our business is strong. gross profit continues to grow, we continue to serve more and more customers, and profitability is improving. but something has changed. 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 said.
Dorsey said they opted for a single deep round of cuts instead of multiple smaller layoffs over time.
“Repeated rounds of cuts are destructive to morale, to focus, and to the trust that customers and shareholders place in our ability to lead. i’d rather take a hard, clear action now and build from a position we believe in than manage a slow reduction of people toward the same outcome,” he said.
He said the laid-off employees will receive their salary for 20 weeks and one week per year of tenure.
They will also receive six months of health care, corporate devices, and $5,000 to put toward “whatever they need to help them in this transition”, he said.
Co-founded by Dorsey in 2009 as Square, the company rebranded to Block in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on blockchain technology.
The company said it expects to incur roughly $450 million to $500 million in restructuring charges.
Block posted an adjusted profit of 65 cents per share in the three months ended December 31, compared with 47 cents a year earlier.
(With agency inputs)
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Block, Jack Dorsey, Job Cuts
