Block carried out layoffs on January 30, 2024. Contemporaneous reporting estimated that around 1,000 employees—about 10% of the company’s headcount—were affected across Cash App, foundational and Square groups. Those figures were reported estimates, not a confirmed final count.
How many people did Block lay off in 2024?
TechCrunch reported that around 1,000 Block employees were affected, equivalent to about 10% of the company’s headcount. The report described the number as approximate; it should not be read as an official final tally. The cuts took place on January 30, 2024. TechCrunch’s January 30, 2024 report is the contemporaneous source for the estimate and date.
Which Block teams were affected?
The reported cuts involved employees in Cash App, foundational groups and Square. The article did not provide a breakdown of the estimated total by team, so the relative impact on each group is not established.
Why did Block lay off workers?
TechCrunch attributed the explanation to an internal note from CEO Jack Dorsey, which the publication said Business Insider had first obtained. As quoted by TechCrunch, Dorsey said that “the growth of [Block] has far outpaced the growth of … business and revenue.” The brackets and ellipsis are part of the published quotation; they do not establish the omitted wording.
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Dorsey also said the company chose to make the reductions at once rather than space them out. TechCrunch quoted him as saying: “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.” This is the rationale described in the memo, not proof that it was the only factor behind the decision.
How did the layoffs relate to Block’s headcount cap?
Block had previously said it would reduce its headcount from 13,000 employees in Q3 2023 to an “absolute cap” of 12,000 by the end of 2024, according to TechCrunch. That was a previously announced workforce limit; it is separate from the layoffs carried out on January 30, 2024. The contemporaneous article did not say that the cap represented the number of employees laid off that day.
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What business pressures were discussed at the time?
TechCrunch’s January 2024 coverage placed the layoffs alongside concerns involving Cash App revenue, Afterpay losses, Bitcoin revenue and competition facing Square. These were presented as business context in the article. The report does not establish that any one of them, or all of them together, independently caused the layoffs.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Was this the same as Block’s AI layoffs?
No. Block’s January 2024 cuts and its February 2026 workforce reduction were separate events. The later reduction is not the event described by the January 2024 headline.
| Event | Reported scale | Stated context |
|---|---|---|
| January 30, 2024 | Around 1,000 employees, or about 10% of headcount, reportedly affected; TechCrunch described this as an estimate. | Dorsey’s memo, as relayed by TechCrunch, cited company growth outpacing business and revenue growth and said the cuts would be made at once. |
| February 2026 | More than 4,000 jobs, according to Reuters. | Reuters described the later cuts as part of an AI-related overhaul. |
Reuters reported the distinct 2026 event in its February 26, 2026 coverage. FinTech Futures’ 2026 fintech layoffs tracker, updated September 2, 2026, also lists Block’s February cuts.
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