Block to cut up to 1,100 jobs as Jack Dorsey pushes for leaner, meaner operation
Jack Dorsey’s fintech company Block Inc. is preparing to cut up to 10% of its staff as part of a broader business overhaul, Bloomberg reports. Hundreds of employees have been told their jobs may be eliminated during annual performance reviews, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg. Block had fewer than 11,000 employees as of late November, which means roughly 1,100 workers could find themselves out of a job.
Block’s big pivot: Merging Cash App and Square while betting on Bitcoin and AI
The layoffs aren’t coming out of nowhere. Block has been retooling its business model and staffing since 2024, when it reorganised reporting lines and laid out plans to operate more efficiently. The central piece of that restructuring involves integrating Cash App, its peer-to-peer payments platform, with Square, the merchant-focused payments service that gave the company its original identity when Dorsey co-founded it back in 2009.Both products have largely operated in their own lanes, but Block now wants them working in tandem. Alongside that integration effort, the company is investing in newer ventures — Proto, its Bitcoin mining business, and Goose, an internal artificial intelligence tool — as it looks to diversify beyond its core payments business.The push for efficiency comes at a time when Block’s financial performance has been under the scanner. The company missed Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit amid persistent economic uncertainty and rising competition in the payments sector. Growth in the Square segment, which caters to small and medium-sized businesses, slowed to 9% during that quarter.That said, it hasn’t all been rough. Block earned a spot on the S&P 500 index last July, replacing Hess Corp after Chevron’s $53 billion acquisition of the energy producer — a milestone that signalled Wall Street’s confidence in its long-term trajectory.The company is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings after market close on February 26. Analysts expect adjusted earnings of $403 million, or 68 cents per share, on revenue of $6.25 billion. Those numbers will offer a clearer picture of whether Dorsey’s efficiency-first approach is starting to pay off.For now, the layoffs add Block to a growing list of tech companies trimming headcount as the industry continues to recalibrate after years of aggressive hiring.
