AIster · The agentic age · Culture
Block cuts 40% of its staff, citing AI
A large tech firm said plainly that AI tools were the reason for cutting thousands of jobs
Key facts
- Date
- 26 Feb 2026
- Era
- The agentic age
- Interest
- Culture
- Threads
- Agents
- Headcount
- Over 10,000 to just under 6,000 (about 40%)
- Stated reason
- “Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company”
- Market reaction
- Shares up nearly 18% on 27 Feb 2026
- Context
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas counted 54,836 planned US job cuts attributed to AI in 2025
Jack Dorsey said Block, the owner of Square and Cash App, would shrink from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000, cutting over 4,000 jobs. He said “intelligence tools” meant a smaller team could do more, and that the company was not cutting because it was in trouble. Block's shares rose nearly 18% the next day.
Sources
- Block, Inc., Q4 2025 Shareholder Letter, 2026-02-26
- Fortune, Block CEO Jack Dorsey lays off nearly half of his staff because of AI and predicts most companies will make similar cuts in the next year, 2026-02-27
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Challenger Report: December 2025 job cut announcements, 2026-01-08