The Block CEO announced the layoffs in an internal email outlining strategic shifts, performance reviews, and management restructuring
Financial technology giant Block, Inc., the parent company of Cash App and Square, has laid off 931 employees—approximately 8% of its global workforce—according to a leaked internal message obtained and published by TechCrunch. The announcement was made in an email sent to employees by co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey on Tuesday.
In the email, Dorsey outlined that the layoffs are part of broader organizational changes and not tied to financial issues or AI-driven automation. Rather, the move is aimed at streamlining the company’s structure, accelerating performance standards, and aligning with new strategic priorities.
Breakdown of Layoffs
According to Dorsey’s message, the job cuts fall into three categories:
- Strategy: 391 employees are being let go as part of strategic shifts within the company.
- Performance: The largest group—460 employees—are being cut due to underperformance or a trend toward underperformance based on internal metrics.
- Management Restructuring: 80 managerial roles have been eliminated to flatten the company’s hierarchy to what Dorsey calls “innercore+4,” meaning his direct reports and four levels below them. Additionally, 193 managers are being reassigned to individual contributor roles.
The company is also closing 748 open positions, with exceptions made for roles that are in the final stages of the hiring process or deemed critical to operations and leadership.
Not the First Cut
This is not the first significant round of layoffs at Block in recent months. In January 2024, the company reduced its workforce by about 1,000 employees. As of its most recent filing in December 2024, Block reported having roughly 11,300 employees globally.
Despite the magnitude of the layoffs, Dorsey emphasized that they are part of an effort to make the organization more agile and performance-focused.
“We are raising the bar and acting faster on performance,”
he wrote in the internal message, published by the leading tech media.
The full text of Jack Dorsey’s leaked email can be read in TechCrunch’s original publication here.
Block has not yet issued a public comment on the matter, TechCrunch reported.
Image by Mark Warner is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Source: TechCrunch
