“Bomba Block”: One of the world's most innovative companies has laid off 4,000 of its 10,000 employees, not because it's doing badly, but because it's doing well. The reverberations also reached Romania

Payments company Block, owned by Jack Dorsey, a former co-founder of Twitter, has announced it is laying off nearly half of its workforce as part of a reorganization aimed at integrating artificial intelligence into its operations, Reuters writes. The measure is one of the clearest signs of the major changes that AI tools are having on jobs, writes the Financial Times. Reactions continue to appear, including in Romania.

Dorsey's decision shows how the AI ​​boom is translating from excitement about changes in the workforce to concerns from employees and economists that the technology can eliminate jobs even as it boosts productivity and profits, Reuters comments on Dorsey's decision.

But what did the CEO of payments company Block announce? “Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company. We're already seeing it internally. A significantly smaller team using these tools can do more and do it better,” said CEO Jack Dorsey.

“Most companies are late”

“I don't think we're among the first to realize this. I think most companies are late,” he added.

Dorsey also said in his message that the decision is not being made because Block is in trouble, but the opposite. “Our business is solid. Gross profit continues to grow, we are serving more customers and profitability is improving. But something has changed,” Dorsey said in his message.

He pointed out that he expects most companies to reach the same conclusion as Block and make similar decisions. “I'd rather we get there honestly and on our terms than be forced to do it reactively.”

The announcement that it was laying off 4,000 of the company's 10,000 employees was followed by a 25% jump in the payments company's shares.

Analysts at Truist say the stock likely rose on hopes of better-than-expected margins for the company in 2026 as a result of job cuts, Reuters also writes.

A 'crucial moment' in the AI ​​era

“Investors have rewarded companies that show AI-driven cost reductions, and the drastic reduction in labor signals the extent to which the technology is starting to translate into lower expenses,” Reuters recalls.

While analysts at US company Evercore ISI called the layoffs “a watershed moment” in the AI ​​era.

Dorsey, who left the position of CEO of Twitter in 2021, is among the first leaders in Silicon Valley to explicitly link massive staff cuts to the ability of artificial intelligence to replace human workers, the Financial Times also points out.

Amazon has tried to downplay the AI ​​connection after announcing 30,000 job cuts since October, months after CEO Andy Jassy warned the technology would mean “fewer people doing some of the jobs we do today” in the coming years, particularly in office roles, the Financial Times reports.

“A Sign of Things to Come”

“CEO Jack Dorsey is moving away from classic tech layoffs, and this may be a sign of things to come,” writes Business Insider.

The publication points out that Dorsey's announcement raises questions about whether other companies will make similar decisions, and recalls that reactions from the industry were immediate

“It seems inevitable that the decision will have repercussions for all public (listed) companies in the US. We need to find a way to get everyone into ownership with some exposure to growth while headcount is drastically reduced,” commented Jessica Verrilli, managing director and co-founder of Adverb Ventures, a San Francisco-based investment firm, in a post on X.

“Where are the jobs for the redundant people?”

In a commentary on the website of CNBC, American television dedicated to global business, the Block movement is seen as the champion of surprise, in a time full of upheavals anyway. Because it can be an announcement-prediction.

And the CNBC author's reaction was: “I keep hearing that AI will create new jobs to replace the ones lost. I've been asking the same question for years. 'What are these jobs? Where are the jobs for the millions of people whose roles will become redundant?'

And every time I hear the same answer: “Oh, these jobs haven't been created yet.”

I think it's about time we got a better answer, don't you?”

Reactions in Romania as well

The Block company's decision was also commented on by Dragoș Stanca, president of BRAT, founder of Upgrade 100 and initiator of the Ethical Media Alliance.

“Today is the day when many speakers at tech events will delete from their presentations that tired slide of “AI will not take your place, but another colleague who knows AI better”, followed by “AI will create new jobs”. I don't (really) believe that,” he wrote in an opinion also published on HotNews.

Dorsey's announcement was also published in full by businessman Orlando Nicoară, director of Clever EAD, who led Mediafax Group and contributed to the launch of publications such as Profit.ro, News.ro, Life.ro.