Jack Dorsey’s Block lays off 40% workforce; stock price vaults 22% in pre-market trading Friday

Block Inc., the American financial services and digital payments company, said on Friday it would cut around 4,000 jobs, or nearly 40% of its workforce, as CEO Jack Dorsey pushes an aggressive reset focussed on speed, simplicity, and artificial intelligence (AI)-led efficiency. The move comes just weeks after other major tech firms announced significant job cuts.

Shares of Block surged more than 22% in early premarket trading on Friday, putting the stock on track for its best day in the last four years.

Ecommerce giant Amazon said in January 2026 that it would lay off 16,000 employees, taking total job cuts to 30,000 since October. eBay laid off around 800 employees, roughly 6% of its workforce, as it reorganised teams and prioritised core marketplace operations.

Meanwhile, Meta cut more than 1,000 jobs across Reality Labs and other teams in early 2026, a move announced in October last year, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg continued his efficiency drive following multiple rounds of layoffs since 2023.

In the same period, Indian home interiors startup Livspace also laid off around 1,000 employees, nearly 12% of its workforce, as part of a phased internal reorganisation aimed at transforming the company into an AI-native organisation.

Unlike the mass layoffs of 2022 and 2023 that were largely attributed to macroeconomic uncertainty and post-pandemic overhiring, the current wave appears more structural. Companies are increasingly framing these cuts as long-term efficiency measures, driven by automation, AI, and a push to reduce managerial layers.