Block reportedly lays off almost 1,000 employees
Block has laid off 931 workers, which make up around eight percent of its entire staff, according to TechCrunch and The Guardian. The publications have viewed an email, wherein the financial technology company's co-founder and CEO, Jack Dorsey, has discussed the latest organizational changes. Dorsey said that Block is eliminating roles based on three areas, starting with strategy. The company is letting 391 people go, because it's reducing "teams that are off strategy." It's also parting ways with 460 workers who scored a "below" rating or are trending towards a "below" rating in its internal performance tracking metrics.
Finally, Block is laying off 80 managers, as well as moving 193 to individual contributor roles, to flatten the organization and remove layers of middle management between workers and the high-level bosses they'd now have to report to. In his email, Dorsey denied that the layoffs were made to hit any specific financial target and headcount goal, or because the company was replacing workers with artificial intelligence. He said that it was all about strategy and because flattening its org will allow it to "move faster and with less abstraction." The CEO admitted, however, that everyone in Block has equity in the company and that the reorganization "will help [it] focus and execute better to do just that." Block's stock prices have plummeted by around 30 percent this year.
Dorsey explained that the company is laying off nearly 1,000 workers all at once instead of over time, because it's behind in its actions. "We need to move to help us meet and stay ahead of the transformational moment our industry is in," he wrote. In addition to the layoffs, Block is also closing 748 previously open jobs and is only leaving key leadership and critical roles, along with those that have already progressed to offer stage, open. Block, which owns Square and Cash App, also underwent a reorganization in early 2024. It laid off nearly 1,000 people back then, as well, to make the company leaner and to limit its headcount to around 12,000 workers. As TechCrunch notes, Block had around 11,300 workers around the world by December 2024, which means its headcount is now far below the original goal it set for itself in 2023. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/block-reportedly-lays-off-almost-1000-employees-130056952.html?src=rss