Jack Dorsey's Block lays off 4,000 and blames AI. Is it just a convenient excuse?

Wall Street rewards CEOs who make steep cuts and attribute those cuts to AI. That could embolden other management teams to follow suit

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It might be the largest single-round percentage jobs cut in S&P 500 history. Block $SQ, the fintech company founded by Jack Dorsey, said Thursday that it will lay off about 40% of its workforce. That's more than 4,000 people.

In a note to staff, which Dorsey also shared to X $TWTR, he framed the move as a pivot to AI. “We're not making this decision because we're in trouble," he wrote. “Our business is strong. Gross profit continues to grow, we continue to serve more and more customers, and profitability is improving. but something has changed.”

The culprit, Dorsey said, was a much more fundamental shift in the business........

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