Jack Dorsey Responds to "Block Layoffs Were Due to Mismanagement": Architectural Mistake Led to Overhiring and Has Been Corrected by 2024, Targeting over $2 Million in Per Capita Gross Profit

BlockBeats News, February 27th, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey responded to the news that "From December 2019 to December 2022, the number of Block employees increased from 3,900 to 12,500, and now the scale of layoffs is even less than half of the initial 'crazy expansion'. This is not so much because of artificial intelligence, but rather reflects Jack Dorsey's mismanagement" by stating, "Yes, we did indeed over-hire during the pandemic because at that time I mistakenly built two separate company structures (Square and Cash App) instead of integrating them into one unified structure. We corrected this issue in mid-2024. However, this narrative overlooks the complexity we undertook during this period — including operational and compliance challenges brought by ventures into lending, banking, and 'buy now, pay later' businesses.

Our current goal is to achieve over $2 million in gross profit per employee, which is four times the pre-pandemic efficiency. From 2019 to 2024, our per capita gross profit has remained at about $500,000. We have been, and continue to be, operating as a highly efficient company, outperforming most of our peers."

Previously reported, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's Bitcoin payment company Block is cutting 4,000 employees, with a layoff ratio close to half. The company is betting on artificial intelligence to transform future labor productivity. Due to the layoff plan, Block's stock price surged 22% in after-hours trading.