\n<\/p>\n
Block, the parent company of Cash App and Square, announced Thursday it will be laying off more than 4,000 employees \u2014 a move that sent the company\u2019s stock up 25% in after-hours trading.<\/p>\n
For most companies, laying off nearly half the workforce would send stockholders into a panic, tanking the stock within minutes of the announcement. But in 2026, investors in Block appear to have the opposite perspective \u2014 viewing humans as a liability in the modern economy, thanks in large part to the AI revolution.<\/p>\n
Block CEO Jack Dorsey said<\/a> in a statement on X that the layoffs did not happen \u201cbecause we\u2019re in trouble,\u201d but rather because \u201csomething has changed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re already seeing that the intelligence tools we\u2019re creating and using, paired with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new way of working which fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company [sic]. and that\u2019s accelerating rapidly,\u201d Dorsey said.<\/p>\n Dorsey viewed job cuts resulting from AI implementation as inevitable and chose to rip off the band-aid.<\/p>\n \u201ci had two options: cut gradually over months or years as this shift plays out, or be honest about where we are and act on it now [sic]. i chose the latter,\u201d Dorsey said. \u201crepeated rounds of cuts are destructive to morale, to focus, and to the trust that customers and shareholders place in our ability to lead [sic].\u201d<\/p>\n The layoffs are part of a broader shakeout in tech, where companies including Salesforce, CrowdStrike, Pinterest, and Chegg are shedding workers as AI absorbs key functions.<\/p>\n In a letter to shareholders, Dorsey predicted that, within the next year, \u201cthe majority of companies will reach the same conclusion and make similar structural changes.\u201d<\/p>\n