Jack Dorsey’s fintech firm Block, Inc. has laid off 931 employees in its second round of job cuts in one and a half years. The move is part of several organizational changes Dorsey announced to make the company "faster and with less abstraction."
Founded in 2009, Block operates payment platforms Square and Afterpay, the money transfer app Cash App, and the music streaming service Tidal. As of December 2024, it had around 11,300 employees, according to the company’s exchange filing.
According to a TechCrunch report, Block is cutting jobs across three areas: 391 employees are being let go for “strategy” reasons, while 460 employees, the largest group, are being laid off due to performance issues based on internal ratings. Additionally, 80 managers are being cut to flatten the hierarchy, while 193 managers are being reassigned to individual contributor roles.
"None of the above points are trying to hit a specific financial target, replacing folks with AI, or changing our headcount cap. They are specific to our needs around strategy, raising the bar and acting faster on performance, and flattening our org," Dorsey said in an internal email to employees, according to TechCrunch.
Block's Earnings Miss the Mark
Last month, Block’s fourth-quarter earnings fell short of Wall Street expectations. The company reported $6.03 billion in revenue, up 4.5% year on year, but missed market expectations of $6.29 billion, according to CNBC. Block's gross profit rose 14% to $2.31 billion, while gross payment volume of $61.95 billion beat estimates.
The company also announced plans to expand beyond payments into financial services. It is rolling out Afterpay on the Cash App card, following its $29 billion acquisition of the buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm in 2021.
In January 2024, CEO Jack Dorsey laid off approximately 1,000 employees across various divisions on Block, including at Cash App and Square, aiming to address the imbalance between the company’s workforce growth and business expansion.
