News/Commentary

Jack Dorsey slashes nearly half his company in one cut due to AI

March 4, 2026 | | Print Article

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s new business is undergoing a serious overhaul that is putting nearly half of its employees out of work.

The payments firm, Block, is introducing artificial intelligence (AI) into its operations, which will affect over 4,000 jobs. Dorsey indicated that the company will engage in one large round of staff cuts rather than several smaller ones as the company seeks room for growth amid the AI boom.

He took to his old social media website X, renamed from Twitter by its new owner Elon Musk, to explain that the decision isn’t being made in some last-ditch effort to save the company from collapse, but to adapt to a changing market and a “new way of working.”

Look:

“We’re making [Block] smaller today. Here’s my note to the company,” he wrote. “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. I’ll be straight about what’s happening, why, and what it means for everyone.”

“First off, if you’re one of the people affected, you’ll receive your salary for 20 weeks + 1 week per year of tenure, equity vested through the end of may, 6 months of health care, your corporate devices, and $5,000 to put toward whatever you need to help you in this transition (if you’re outside the U.S. you’ll receive similar support but exact details are going to vary based on local requirements). I want you to know that before anything else. Everyone will be notified today, whether you’re being asked to leave, entering consultation, or asked to stay,” he continued. “We’re not making this decision because we’re in trouble. Our business is strong. gross profit continues to grow, we continue to serve more and more customers, and profitability is improving. 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. and that’s accelerating rapidly.”

ADVERTISEMENT

“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,” Dorsey continued. “A decision at this scale carries risk. But so does standing still. We’ve done a full review to determine the roles and people we require to reliably grow the business from here, and we’ve pressure-tested those decisions from multiple angles. I accept that we may have gotten some of them wrong, and we’ve built in flexibility to account for that, and do the right thing for our customers.”

“We’re not going to just disappear people from Slack and email and pretend they were never here. Communication channels will stay open through Thursday evening (Pacific) so everyone can say goodbye properly and share whatever you wish. I’ll also be hosting a live video session to thank everyone at 3:35 pm pacific. I know doing it this way might feel awkward. I’d rather it feel awkward and human than efficient and cold,” the post explained. “To those of you leaving…I’m grateful for you, and I’m sorry to put you through this. You built what this company is today. That’s a fact that I’ll honor forever. This decision is not a reflection of what you contributed. You will be a great contributor to any organization going forward.”

“To those staying…I made this decision, and I’ll own it. What I’m asking of you is to build with me. We’re going to build this company with intelligence at the core of everything we do. How we work, how we create, how we serve our customers. Our customers will feel this shift too, and we’re going to help them navigate it: towards a future where they can build their own features directly, composed of our capabilities and served through our interfaces. That’s what I’m focused on now. Expect a note from me tomorrow,” he concludes.

X users reacted:

ADVERTISEMENT

Sierra Marlee
Latest posts by Sierra Marlee (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles