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- Zafar Naik
Zafar Naik
- Feb 27, 2026 10:11 UTC
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Jack Dorsey’s Block AI Layoffs Spark Backlash: What This Means for Cash App Bitcoin Users
Block cut nearly half its workforce in a single day, citing AI tools that "can do more and do it better."
Critics are calling it AI-washing for what may be years of overhiring under Jack Dorsey.
Cash App is Block's fastest-growing profit engine, and 40% fewer employees are now running it.
Jack Dorsey’s company, the parent behind Square, Cash App, and Afterpay, slashed its workforce from over 10,000 to under 6,000 on Thursday. The announcement came alongside Q4 2025 earnings showing 24% gross profit growth to $2.87 billion. Cash App alone surged 33%.
Dorsey wrote in a shareholder letter, “Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company. A significantly smaller team, using the tools we’re building, can do more and do it better.”
Block’s stock jumped over 20% after hours, adding nearly $6 billion to its market cap.
AI or AI-Washing? Critics Weigh In
Not everyone is convinced AI is the real driver here.
Also Read: Crypto Bull Run 2026: Analyst Says AI Bubble, Silent Recession, Record Fear May Trigger a Rally
Will Slaughter pointed out that Block tripled its headcount from 3,900 to 12,500 between 2019 and 2022.
“Unwinding less than half an insane COVID overhiring binge has much more to do with Jack Dorsey’s managerial incompetence than whether AI is going to take your job,” he wrote.
Dorsey acknowledged the overhiring directly.
“Yes we over-hired during covid because I incorrectly built 2 separate company structures (Square & Cash App) rather than 1,” he posted, adding that Block is now targeting “$2M+ gross profit per person, 4x our pre-covid efficiency.”
Bull Theory also flagged that Block spent $68 million on a single company event in September 2025, recorded in its earnings as a spike in general and administrative expenses, calling it “roughly the annual payroll for 200 employees at $340,000 each.”
Satirist Alex Cohen added fuel with a viral fake layoff post: “I was fired from Block today. I was the PM in charge of changing the default tip option on the Square terminal to start at 40%. Jack replaced me with an AI agent that decides which tip amount to show based on your age, weight, and race.”
What Does This Mean for Cash App Bitcoin Users?
Block runs one of the largest retail Bitcoin platforms in the U.S. Cash App serves millions of users buying, selling, and holding BTC. The company also operates Bitkey, a self-custody Bitcoin wallet, and Proto, a Bitcoin mining hardware division.
Cash App generated $1.83 billion in gross profit last quarter, up 33% year over year, making it Block’s dominant revenue engine.
With 40% fewer employees managing that infrastructure, crypto markets will be watching whether a leaner Block accelerates its Bitcoin strategy or struggles to sustain it.
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