Block is laying off more than 4,000 people, dropping the workforce from over 10,000 employees to just under 6,000. The letter shared by co-founder Jack Dorsey to shareholders highlights the reason for layoffs: “intelligence tools.” Based on the move, Dorsey thinks most companies will follow a similar pattern in the near future.
Block said it will cut over 4,000 jobs, nearly half its workforce, as part of an overhaul to embed artificial intelligence across its operations, sending shares of the payments firm up 25% in after-hours trading, according to Reuters.
Dorsey explained the decision on the letter:
„The core thesis is simple. 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 we’re building, can do more and do it better. And intelligence tool capabilities are compounding faster every week.
I don’t think we’re early to this realization. I think most companies are late. Within the next year, I believe the majority of companies will reach the same conclusion and make similar structural changes.„
The layoffs signal how the AI boom is translating from hype into workforce changes, fueling long-held concerns among workers and economists that the technology could eliminate roles even as it boosts productivity and profits.
„We’re not making this decision because we’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.” – Dorsey said on X.
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„To be honest I think that Sinaia, your conference, is much better then Davos.”
Many more interesting quotes in the video below:
