Jack Dorsey's mea culpa on Block layoffs: 'We overhired'

Core Insights - Jack Dorsey, CEO of Block, acknowledged over-hiring during COVID as a key reason for recent layoffs, reducing the workforce from over 10,000 to under 6,000 [1][6] - Dorsey attributed the over-hiring to a structural misstep, where two separate company structures were created instead of one, leading to inflated headcount during aggressive expansion [2] - Block aims for more than $2 million in gross profit per employee, which is four times its pre-COVID efficiency, while maintaining a flat gross profit of about $500,000 per person from 2019 to 2024 [6] Company Performance - Block's share price is approximately $54, remaining flat compared to its 2018 price, with significant fluctuations during the pandemic [7] - The company has experienced a drop in stock price from over $275 in early 2021 to below $100 since early 2022 [7] - Dorsey emphasized that the business remains strong, with growing gross profit and improving profitability despite the layoffs [7] Industry Context - Dorsey pointed to a fundamental shift in company operations, with intelligence tools and smaller teams enabling a new way of working [8] - Other tech companies, including Amazon, eBay, Meta, and Workday, have also announced workforce cuts, often citing efficiency gains driven by AI [8] - The trend towards leaner operations is reflected in the actions of other industry leaders, such as Fiverr, which announced a 30% workforce cut to become a more efficient "AI-first company" [9]