Jack Dorsey announces that $SQ (+4,22%) Block (formerly Square) is cutting almost half of its workforce - from over 10,000 to just under 6,000 employees, i.e. over 4,000 redundancies.
And not because of financial problems, as business is going well. Rather, AI tools and flatter team structures are enabling a fundamentally new way of working that requires fewer staff. Dorsey deliberately opted for a one-off major cut instead of gradual reductions, as repeated rounds of redundancies would destroy morale and trust.
I imagine Block is just the beginning. It will be exciting to see how the world of work changes with AI. As a software developer, when I see how good Claude Code is now, for example, it makes me wonder whether I won't be at risk of being replaced in 5-10 years' time.
