Block Inc., the fintech company led by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, is planning to cut up to 10% of its workforce as part of a sweeping restructuring strategy aimed at streamlining operations and improving business efficiency. This move comes as Block has continuously adjusted its strategy over the past two years, facing increasing pressure to grow profits and a more competitive fintech market.
According to sources close to the matter, the layoffs will occur across various departments, coinciding with the company's year-end performance review, which is expected to last until the end of February. This marks Block 's third major layoff in approximately two years, following the elimination of over 1,000 positions in early 2024 and a further streamlining of 931 Vai in March 2025. This chain of moves indicates that Block 's restructuring process is not short-term, but rather a long-term structural change.
Block began a nearly continuous restructuring phase starting in 2024, aiming for closer integration between Cash App and Square – its two core businesses that generate the majority of revenue and profit. Simultaneously, the company had to make difficult decisions regarding new projects. At the end of 2024, Block publicly prioritized Bitcoin mining while scaling back or ceasing investment in less profitable areas. Its decentralized technology unit, TBD, was gradually dissolved, and its online music streaming platform, Tidal, underwent significant downsizing in both resources and personnel.
While scaling back in some areas, Block is accelerating investment in new, strategic directions. One notable project is Goose, an AI-powered productivity tool developed internally by Block . This project reflects the company's ambition to apply AI to its operations and products, thereby reducing costs, increasing efficiency, and unlocking potential long-term revenue streams.
At its investor event in November 2025, Block management announced an ambitious three-year financial framework. The company aims for Medium double-digit annual gross profit growth until 2028, and forecasts gross profit of approximately $11.98 billion in 2026. Simultaneously, Block also announced an expansion of its share buyback program by $5 billion, a move that immediately had a positive impact on the market as the stock price surged in subsequent trading.
However, Block 's actual business results in recent quarters have presented a less than favorable picture. While the company exceeded expectations in the second quarter with a 14% year-on-year increase in gross profit and had to revise its full-year forecast upwards, the third quarter saw Block disappoint, with both revenue and adjusted earnings per share falling short of analysts' estimates. This information put significant selling pressure on the company's stock in after-hours trading. Overall, over the past year, Block stock has significantly declined in value, reflecting market skepticism about its ability to translate restructuring strategies into sustainable growth.
