Financial services company Block, co-founded by Jack Dorsey, has laid off 931 employees—roughly 8% of its global workforce—as part of a restructuring effort. The layoffs were announced in an internal email from Dorsey on Tuesday, according to a leaked message seen by TechCrunch.
The move marks the latest round of cuts at Block, which owns Cash App and Square, and comes just months after the company laid off about 1,000 employees in January 2024. While companies across the tech and fintech sectors have been making deep job cuts amid economic uncertainty,
Dorsey insisted in his email that these layoffs were not financially driven or related to artificial intelligence replacing human workers. Instead, he described the move as part of a strategic shift aimed at improving performance and flattening the company’s hierarchy.
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Breakdown of the Layoffs
Dorsey explained that the layoffs fell into three broad categories. The first category includes 391 employees whose roles were cut due to “strategy” reasons. These job eliminations reflect shifting business priorities at Block, though Dorsey did not specify which areas were most affected.
The largest portion—460 employees—were laid off due to performance-related reasons. According to Dorsey, these employees either received a “below” rating on the company’s internal performance tracking system or were trending toward a lower rating.
The third group consists of 80 managers whose roles were eliminated as part of an effort to streamline Block’s corporate structure. An additional 193 managers have been reassigned from management roles to individual contributor positions. Dorsey’s goal is to flatten Block’s hierarchy to an “innercore+4” model, meaning he will have four levels of direct reports beyond his immediate leadership team.
In addition to the layoffs, Block is also eliminating 748 open job positions across the company, except for roles that are in the offer stage, key leadership positions, and critical operational jobs.
A Broader Trend of Restructuring in Fintech
The job cuts at Block are part of a broader trend across the fintech industry, where companies have been forced to make tough decisions amid tightening economic conditions and slowing growth. Tech giants and startups alike have been reevaluating their business models, trimming their workforce, and focusing on operational efficiency.
Block, which provides mobile payment services to consumers and point-of-sale solutions for businesses, has been navigating the evolving landscape of digital finance. While the company has grown rapidly in recent years, concerns over profitability and operational efficiency have pushed leadership to take aggressive restructuring measures.
Dorsey’s latest round of layoffs signals a continued shift in Block’s approach, prioritizing a leaner workforce while maintaining its focus on innovation. However, the repeated rounds of job cuts raise questions about the company’s long-term growth strategy and whether it can sustain its position as a fintech big shot without sacrificing workforce morale.
Below is the entire email Dorsey sent to Block employees on Tuesday, as reported by TechCrunch.
hi all.
today we’ll be making some org changes, including eliminating roles and beginning the consultation process in countries where required. i want to give you all the straight facts.
as I said at the last Block, there are three areas we’d like to address:
strategy: reducing from teams that are off strategy, and fixing our discipline ratios.
performance: parting ways with people with a “below” or trending towards “below.”
hierarchy: driving to flattening our org to a max depth of innercore+4
what that translates to in actual numbers of people.
- strategy: 391 people
- performance: 460 people
- hierarchy: 80 managers (with 193 moving it individual contributor roles)
we’re also closing all the 748 roles we had open with the exception of:
- roles progressed to offer stage.
- critical operational roles
- start/accelerate roles
- key leadership 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 so we can move faster and with less abstraction.
why do this all at once instead of over time? we’re behind in our actions, and that’s not fair to the individuals who work here or the company. when we know, we should move, and there hasn’t been enough movement. we need to move to help us meet and stay ahead of the transformational moment our industry is in.
this is the toughest part of my job, and I fight hard against any of these considerations. we must have a very high bar of correctness for us to take any action, which takes iteration and time to get right. i always balance this with the fact that everyone here, and those that are departing, has equity in our company. it’s my job to increase that value. we believe this will help us focus and execute better to do just that.
we’re working to give clarity to everyone as quickly, with as much context and support, as possible. you’ll receive an email soon about what this means for you. if there are areas where you think we could do better, please send me a note. direct feedback makes us better, and I always act when it makes sense.
thank you to all those leaving us. i am grateful and appreciative for you and your work, which has built us up to this point. we will continue to honor that by increasing our value to our customers, and therefore to all of our shareholders, including you.
thank you,
jack