Jack Dorsey's fintech giant Block just made a bold move: The company is cutting around 4,000 jobs, roughly 40% of staff, taking headcount from over 10,000 to under 6,000. The announcement happened on February 26, and Wall Street responded with excitement—the stock skyrocketed as much as 24% in extended trading.
Dorsey explained in a letter to shareholders: "Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company." The core idea? Management framed the move as a shift toward an "intelligence-native" operating model, arguing that new tools enable smaller teams to ship faster while still growing. Dorsey said: "A significantly smaller team using the tools can do more and do it better."
This isn't because Block is struggling. In fact, Dorsey guaranteed that the cuts weren't happening because the business is struggling, but rather because "our business is strong… gross profit continues to grow." Block projects 2026 gross profit of $12.2 billion (about 18% growth), and the company also raised its profit guidance.
Here's the take-home: Dorsey thinks "most companies are late." He believes "the majority of companies will reach the same conclusion and make similar structural changes" within the next year, and he'd "rather get there honestly and on our own terms than be forced into it reactively." The company expects to incur roughly $450 million to $500 million in restructuring charges.
Block operates Square, Cash App, and other fintech platforms, and this AI-first strategy signals a major shift across Silicon Valley on how companies are choosing to compete.