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January 31, 2024

Block, fintech firm lead by Dorsey, slashes 1k jobs.

TLDR:

  • Jack Dorsey’s fintech firm Block is laying off nearly 1,000 employees.
  • The layoffs will affect staff in the Cash App, Afterpay, and Square subsidiaries.
  • The decision to lay off employees was made to take immediate action rather than prolonging the process.

Jack Dorsey’s financial services company Block is reportedly laying off close to 1,000 employees, impacting the Cash App, Afterpay, and Square subsidiaries. The decision to lay off employees was made to take immediate action rather than spacing out the layoffs. Last year, Block announced its intention to reduce its headcount from 13,000 to an “absolute cap” of 12,000 by the end of this year. Revenues from Cash App have declined significantly, and Afterpay has posted serious losses. The company is also facing competition from other players in the market.

Block reported $5.62 billion in revenue for the third quarter of 2023, with $44 million in profit on its Bitcoin holdings. In September 2023, Jack Dorsey was appointed Head and Chairperson of Block, and the company changed its name from Square to Block in December 2021.

This layoff announcement comes as a surprise, as many see Block as a promising fintech company. The decision to lay off employees indicates that the company is facing challenges in its various subsidiaries and needs to restructure to remain competitive in the market.