Fintech firm Block cuts 4,000 jobs due to AI

Bengaluru: Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's fintech company Block has laid off 4,000 of its over 10,000 employees due to AI. Dorsey said his firm is laying off as they are already seeing that the intelligence tools are enabling a new way of working.

In a post on X, he said that they are not making this decision because the company is 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," he said.

Since 2024, the company has seen many rounds of layoffs, and for the first time, this round of layoffs has cited AI as the reason.

Shares of the company soared more than 20% in premarket trading on Friday. “The core thesis is simple. Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company,” Dorsey said in a letter to shareholders. Block is the parent company of online payment platforms such as Square and Cash App.