Fintech firm Block to cut nearly half its workforce as founder Jack Dorsey cites shift to AI

• Block, Inc. announced it will lay off more than 4,000 employees, nearly half its workforce, as it pivots toward AI-driven operations, reducing staff from over 10,000 to under 6,000.
• Co-founder Jack Dorsey said the decision was not due to financial trouble but reflects a structural shift toward AI tools and smaller, flatter teams.
• While companies and researchers maintain that AI is meant to enhance productivity rather than fully replace workers, early signs suggest the labor market is already shifting.
• An AI Safety Report estimates that about 60% of jobs in advanced economies and 40% in emerging markets could be vulnerable to AI, depending on adoption patterns.
• Experts say the impact will likely fall disproportionately on white-collar, digitally based roles, even as demand grows for AI-related skills such as machine learning and chatbot development.

Block, Inc., the financial technology firm formerly known as Square and owner of Cash App, announced on Feb. 26 that it will lay off more than 4,000 employees, nearly half of its workforce, as it shifts toward artificial intelligence-driven operations.

Block, founded by Jack Dorsey and entrepreneur Jim McKelvey, has been a major player in digital payments and financial services, particularly through its Cash App platform. The company rebranded from Square to Block in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on blockchain and financial technology products.

However, in a message to employees posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Dorsey said that the company would reduce its headcount from more than 10,000 workers to just under 6,000.

“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 being asked to leave or entering into consultation,” Dorsey wrote on X.

He emphasized that the cuts were not driven by financial distress.

“We’re not making this decision because we’re in trouble. Our business is strong… 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.”

Dorsey acknowledged the severity of the move but defended the decision as necessary to avoid prolonged uncertainty. “I had two options: cut gradually over months or years as this shift plays out or be honest about where we are and act on it now. I chose the latter,” he wrote.

“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. A smaller company also gives us the space to grow our business the right way, on our own terms, instead of constantly reacting to market pressures.”

Automation alert: 60% of jobs at risk – will yours survive?

Companies and researchers have stressed that AI is intended to enhance productivity, not replace human workers entirely.

However, there are early signs that the labor market may already be shifting. For instance, an AI Safety Report estimates that about 60% of jobs in advanced economies and 40% in emerging markets could be vulnerable, depending on how both employers and workers adopt the technology.

While there is no definitive data on how many jobs AI may ultimately displace, a July 2025 Microsoft research paper concluded that AI is most readily applicable to knowledge-based and communication tasks, such as gathering information, learning and writing.

The researchers identified several professions where AI could serve as a particularly effective assistant, including interpreters and translators, historians, writers and authors, sales representatives, programmers, broadcast announcers, customer service representatives, political scientists, mathematicians and journalists.

At the same time, the report noted rising demand for skills in machine learning programming and chatbot development, suggesting the technology is also creating new career pathways.

In other words, as BrightU.AI‘s Enoch noted, this shift will disproportionately affect white-collar jobs, particularly those that can be performed remotely and digitally, impacting millions of workers across various industries.

Watch this video about the imploding labor market with mass layoffs.

This video is from the ThisIsJohnWilliams channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

TheNationalPulse.com

AlJazeera.com

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com