- Block Inc., led by jack dorsey, is preparing to cut up to 10% of staff across multiple teams as part of continued restructuring.
- The company is refocusing on bitcoin mining, reducing spending on TBD and Tidal, and seeking margin gains after mixed quarterly results.
Block Inc., the fintech company led by jack dorsey and known for Cash App, Square and Afterpay, is preparing another round of job reductions as part of a wider restructuring. The planned cuts, which could affect as much as 10% of the workforce, come amid continuing efforts to reshape the business, sharpen its strategic focus and respond to uneven financial results. The move places Block within a broader pattern of layoffs across major U.S. employers while investors await evidence that repeated cost-cutting will translate into stronger profitability.
Jack dorsey’s Block targets headcount as restructuring continues
According to information reported by Bloomberg and attributed to people familiar with the matter, Block is readying staff reductions of up to 10% that will extend across several departments. Managers are carrying out year-end performance reviews that are expected to continue through late February, and the cuts are being implemented in parallel with those evaluations. Block did not provide public comment in response to a request from The Block.
This is the third large-scale workforce reduction at the company in roughly two years. In March 2025, Block eliminated 931 roles. That followed a January 2024 action that removed about 1,000 positions. Taken together, the sequence of cuts illustrates how headcount has become a primary lever in the company’s ongoing cost-management efforts. The latest move suggests that leadership remains focused on trimming expenses even as it outlines ambitious long-term growth targets.
Block has been in what amounts to continuous restructuring since 2024. A central aim has been to bring Cash App and Square closer together operationally, seeking more integrated products and a more streamlined organization. At the same time, the company has been redirecting investment away from certain initiatives while backing a smaller set of priorities it sees as core to future growth.
Strategic shifts, bitcoin focus and internal AI development
In November 2024, Block signaled a notable change in direction. The company said it would focus more heavily on bitcoin mining while stepping back from some of its decentralized technology projects. As part of that pivot, Block decided to wind down its decentralized tech arm known as TBD. It also moved to scale back investments in music streaming platform Tidal, and staff reductions followed at both TBD and Tidal.
Alongside these shifts, Block has been investing in technology built internally, including an AI productivity tool called Goose. The development of Goose reflects an effort to use artificial intelligence to improve internal workflows and possibly enhance product capabilities over time. While details about Goose’s specific applications remain limited in the public domain, its in-house development underscores Block’s intention to embed AI more deeply in its operations.
These strategic moves are being made as Block tries to balance multiple objectives: integrating core businesses, pursuing growth in areas such as bitcoin mining and AI, and reducing spending in lines seen as less central. The planned job cuts fit into this broader effort to reallocate resources while attempting to maintain or improve margins.
Financial performance, investor expectations and Jack dorsey’s market challenge
At its investor day in November 2025, Block laid out a three-year financial framework that set a clear bar for performance. The company projected mid-teens annual gross profit growth through 2028, offering a specific target of $11.98 billion in gross profit for 2026. In conjunction with these projections, Block announced a $5 billion expansion of its share repurchase program. That decision drew a positive reaction from the market, with the stock rising by roughly 8% after the announcement.
The company’s earnings record has been mixed. In the second quarter, Block exceeded expectations, posting 14% year-over-year gross profit growth and increasing its full-year outlook. That result suggested that parts of the strategy, including integration and cost controls, were starting to support stronger performance. The following quarter told a different story. In Q3, Block reported revenue of $6.11 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $0.54, both below analyst forecasts of $6.34 billion in revenue and $0.63 per share. The miss prompted a sharp reaction in trading, with shares falling nearly 10% in after-hours activity.
The stock has struggled over a longer horizon as well. XYZ is down about 37% over the past year and roughly 13% so far this year. Even so, the shares closed Friday at $55.97, a gain of about 4.85% for the session, suggesting that investors remain responsive to signals about cost management and capital returns. The combination of ambitious profit targets, a larger buyback program and repeated workforce reductions has created a clear expectation: that the company under jack dorsey will deliver noticeable margin improvement over the next several reporting periods.
Block’s upcoming fourth-quarter earnings report, scheduled for Feb. 26, will be the first major opportunity to gauge how the latest headcount decisions are affecting the income statement. Investors will look closely at operating expenses and margins to see whether reductions in staff, combined with portfolio reshaping, are beginning to produce the expansion the company has outlined.
Layoffs at Block in the context of wider U.S. job cuts
The staff reductions at Block are unfolding during a broader wave of corporate layoffs in the United States. Data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas show that U.S. employers announced 108,435 job cuts in January. That figure represents the highest total for the month since 2009, highlighting the extent to which companies across sectors are trimming workers to manage costs and reposition for an uncertain environment.
For Block, the timing of its latest plans places it squarely within this national trend, even though the specific drivers are tied to its own restructuring strategy. The company has emphasized integrating operations, prioritizing bitcoin mining, cutting back on decentralized tech and music streaming investments, and building internal AI tools. Workforce reductions have been one of the principal mechanisms to support those choices.
Against this backdrop, analysts and shareholders will assess whether the approach yields the sustainable gross profit growth Block has promised. With mid-teens annual growth through 2028 and a 2026 gross profit goal of $11.98 billion on the table, each quarter’s results will be scrutinized for signs that reduced staffing, particularly across multiple teams, is aligning with stronger efficiency rather than undermining execution.
Conclusion
The decision by Block, led by jack dorsey, to prepare cuts of up to 10% of its staff marks another step in a multi-year effort to reshape the company. Previous reductions in January 2024 and March 2025, the winding down of TBD, scaled-back investment in Tidal, and a greater focus on bitcoin mining and in-house AI development all point to a narrower, more concentrated strategic agenda. At the same time, the firm is managing uneven quarterly results and a share price that has declined over the past year, even as it expands its share repurchase program and sets aggressive gross profit targets.
Block’s fourth-quarter earnings report on Feb. 26 will provide the first detailed look at whether these measures, including the latest planned layoffs, are leading to the margin expansion investors are seeking. The outcome will help determine how markets judge the restructuring path the company has chosen in an environment where many U.S. employers are also cutting jobs to adapt to shifting conditions.
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