Block, Inc. Cuts Workforce by Nearly 50% Due to AI Integration

WE ARE 100% INDEPENDENT AND READER-FUNDED. FOR A GUARANTEED AD-FREE EXPERIENCE AND TO SUPPORT REAL NEWS, PLEASE SIGN UP HERE , TODAY. 7 hours ago William Upton Economy TECH Jack Dorsey’s Block, Inc. Laying Off Almost 50 Percent of Workforce Because of AI. PULSE POINTS ❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Block, Inc., the San Francisco-based technology company formerly known as Square—which owns Cash App—and founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, announced on Thursday that it is laying off nearly half of its workforce. 👤 WHO WAS INVOLVED: Jack Dorsey, Jim McKelvey, Block, Inc. employees, Square, Cash App, and artificial intelligence tools. Newsletter Need to Know. Your free, daily feed from The National Pulse. Thank You! You are now subscribed to our newsletter. 📍 WHEN & WHERE: The announcement was made on Thursday, February 26, 2026. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “ We’re not making this decision because we’re in trouble. Our business is strong… but something has changed. We’re already seeing that the intelligence tools we’re 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.” — Jack Dorsey 🎯 IMPACT: According to Dorsey, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), over 4,000 of the company’s approximately 10,000 employees will be impacted by the layoffs , with their workloads apparently being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) tools. IN FULL Block, Inc., the San Francisco-based technology company formerly known as Square—which owns Cash App—and founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, announced on Thursday that it is laying off nearly half of its workforce. According to Dorsey, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), over 4,000 of the company’s approximately 10,000 employees will be impacted by the layoffs, with their workloads apparently being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) tools. “Today we’re making one of the hardest decisions in the history of our company: We’re reducing our organization by nearly half, from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000. that means over 4,000 of you are being asked to leave or entering into consultation,” Dorsey wrote in a message to Block employees. The former Twitter CEO went on to explain, “We’re not making this decision because we’re in trouble. Our business is strong… but something has changed. We’re already seeing that the intelligence tools we’re 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.” Notably, Block, Inc.’s stock value surged on the news , jumping over 20 percent in after-market trading. Dorsey stated, “I 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. I chose the latter. Repeated rounds of cuts are destructive to morale, to focus, and to the trust that customers and shareholders place in our ability to lead.” “I’d rather take a hard, clear action now and build from a position we believe in than manage a slow reduction of people toward the same outcome. A smaller company also gives us the space to grow our business the right way, on our own terms, instead of constantly reacting to market pressures,” he wrote. The National Pulse’s Editor-in-Chief Raheem Kassam, during a segment on Stephen K. Bannon’s WarRoom show earlier on Thursday, warned regarding the rapidly changing AI environment and its likely impact on the American workforce , saying, “We are reaching an inflection point in the course of human history. You may not have to go sit at your desk and do your 9-5 every day. You may get a Moltbot that can make money for you while you luxuriate and enjoy the world. Or, you will be made extinct.” RAHEEM KASSAM: We are reaching an inflection point in the course of human history. You may not have to go sit at your desk and do your 9-5 every day. You may get a Moltbot that can make money for you while you luxuriate and enjoy the world. Or, you will be made extinct.… pic.twitter.com/hThZR4TMYD — Bannon’s WarRoom (@Bannons_WarRoom) February 26, 2026 In October of last year, The National Pulse reported that Amazon was looking to automate a significant portion of its operations, potentially allowing the company to avoid hiring over 600,000 U.S. workers by 2033. Leaked internal documents reveal that the Jeff Bezos -owned company aims to automate 75 percent of its operations, potentially saving $12.6 billion between 2025 and 2027. Earlier this month, the leader of the Safeguards Research Team for Anthropic‘s Claude chatbot abruptly resigned, issuing a bizarre, poetry-laden letter that warned of a world “ in peril. ” Mrinank Sharma, who led the safety team since its inception in 2023, als