Block Confirms Layoffs; More than 1,000 Employees Affected

An American public company co-founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter (now known as X), Block, has announced significant layoffs, and as per a report, close to 1,000 employees have been affected by the decision. 

As per a report from Business Insider, the company let go of a “large number of [its] teammates” in a single day, stating that it seeks to streamline the operations at Block. Interestingly, in the past few years, the company has doubled down on blockchain, changing its name to Square in 2021. 

Block Releases 1,000 Employees

According to the report, the layoff affected staff in the Cash App, Foundational, and Square arms of Block, and close to 10% of the total workforce at Block found themselves without a job in a single day. 

“We decided it would be better to do at once rather than arbitrarily space them out, which didn’t seem fair to the individuals or to the company,” said Dorsey in a note to the staff. “When we know we need to take an action, we want to take it immediately, rather than let things linger on forever.”

Dorsey has been a strong critic of the centralized nature of Web3 and confirmed that he plans to build a new decentralized web. 

Dorsey’s Bitcoin-focused TBD business unit is now focused on building on this new venture of the firm called Web5.

Block Employees Sent Goodbye Messages

Many of the now-former employees at the American company posted goodbye messages on the social networking platform LinkedIn. 

The former internal mobility manager at Block, Shayna Bulluck, confirmed her exit from the company on LinkedIn, adding:

“Am I surprised? Not entirely—the company gave us a heads up late last year that cuts were coming – but I certainly was hoping to the highest heavens that I, and my team, weren’t on the chopping block. Alas, the chopping block came calling.”

A Surprise for the Industry

The digital asset sector was surprised at the news since Block recently announced the debut of its self-custody Bitcoin (BTC) wallet. The wallet has been dubbed “Bitkey” and will be available as a mobile app or hardware storage.

Increase in Revenue

Notably, the company also reported $5.62 billion in revenue for the third quarter of 2023, with $44 million in profit on its Bitcoin holdings. 

For the fourth quarter, Block stated that it performed better than expected in terms of its Bitcoin (BTC) revenue. Interestingly, the conglomerate recorded Bitcoin revenue worth up to $1.83 billion from its Cash App arm in Q4.