Jack Dorsey's Block is cutting jobs for second time in 2026, report says

The tech industry has reportedly witnessed yet another round of layoffs. This time, it is Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s fintech firm Block. Block, which owns services like CashApp and Afterpay, is said to have announced layoffs internally just months after cutting 40 per cent of its global workforce.As per a report from Business Insider, Block informed employees about the latest layoff round via an internal email. The report added that the cuts are likely to impact multiple teams, including Customer Ops, Risk Ops, and Learning & Content Operations. The decision comes as Block is reportedly "reducing the number of roles, changing some responsibilities, and shifting some reporting lines.”The exact number of laid-off workers is unclear at the moment. Block is headquartered in Oakland, California. The company also has offices outside the US, including Canada, the UK, and Australia. The report does not mention which regions are going to be most impacted by the cuts.Though, the report added, the layoffs primarily Block’s consumer financial services app, Cash App. Some employees at seller-services business Square are also believed to be impacted. Jack Dorsey co-founded Square in 2009, which was renamed to Block in December 2021. Dorsey left his role as Twitter (now X) CEO in November that year. He left the board of directors at Twitter the following year.Block to pay $5,000 in addition to salary as severanceAs part of the layoffs, Block is giving severance packages to employees. Though severance differs depending on the region where one is based. According to the report, US employees affected by the latest cuts will receive at least 60 days of pay and a minimum of seven weeks of base pay as severance. They will receive an additional week of pay for every year worked at Block. Those who sign a severance agreement will receive another 30 days of pay without working, taking the total period to 90 days before severance. Block is also giving US employees a one-time payment of $5,000 for transition assistance. Apart from payments, the package includes three months of COBRA premium health coverage for affected employees and enrolled dependents.Severance packages for employees in other regions remain unclear for now. Nevertheless, Block seems to be giving a generous package for laid-off workers. Recently, Canva, which laid off 1,271 employees, gave a similarly hefty support package which also included free MacBooks and LinkedIn Premium.Block’s layoffs come just months after the company laid off 4,000 of its 10,000-strong workforce. At the time, Jack Dorsey said the company was "not in trouble" and attributed the restructuring to intelligence tools and smaller, flatter teams changing how businesses are built and operated. Block later estimated annualised net cost savings of $800 million to $900 million.Other technology companies have also announced workforce reductions. Amazon, Oracle, Meta, Microsoft, Snap, Atlassian and Coinbase have also announced cuts, citing factors including cost savings, reorganisations, slower-growing businesses and shifts towards AI. According to layoff tracker Layoffs.fyi, over 1,42,000 tech jobs have been cut this year across 346 companies.- Ends