Block Plans to Lay Off Nearly Half Its Staff, Bets on AI to Boost Company Efficiency

BlockBeats News, February 27th. According to the Financial Times, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's Bitcoin payment company Block is trimming 4,000 employees, with a nearly 50% layoff rate. The company is betting on artificial intelligence to change the future of labor productivity. Due to the impact of the layoff plan, Block's stock price soared 22% after hours. Since 2024, Block has been restructuring its business model and personnel configuration due to its lagging stock performance. At the same time, the company has invested heavily in developing artificial intelligence tools to improve operational efficiency, including the development of an in-house tool called Goose.

Block founder Jack Dorsey wrote in a letter: "Intelligent tools have already changed the definition of creating and running a company. We have seen this change within the company. A significantly smaller team, after using the tools we developed, can do more work and do it better."