Tech entrepreneur Jack Dorsey has recently announced that his financial services firm Block will reduce its workforce by nearly half, resulting in around 4,000 job cuts.
Amid the sweeping layoffs, one employee who had publicly shared his exit revealed an unexpected twist. Andrew Harvard, who earlier wrote on X, “I enjoyed my time at Block. I got to work with great people, honed my skills, and built some cool stuff.”, later posted an update.
Taking to X again, he wrote, “Update: Block leadership informed me that my layoff was due to a clerical error. They offered me the opportunity to return, and I’ve accepted.”
‘One of the hardest decisions in our history’
In a note to employees that was later shared publicly, Dorsey described the restructuring as a deeply difficult decision.
“Today we’re making one of the hardest decisions in the history of our company: we’re reducing our organization by nearly half, from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000. That means over 4,000 of you are being asked to leave or entering into consultation. I’ll be straight about what’s happening, why, and what it means for everyone,” the Twitter now X co founder wrote.
Despite the scale of the cuts, Dorsey emphasised that the decision was not driven by financial distress.
“We’re not making this decision because we’re in trouble. Our business is strong. Gross profit continues to grow, we continue to serve more and more customers, and profitability is improving. But something has changed. We’re already seeing that the intelligence tools we’re creating and using, paired with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new way of working which fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company. And that’s accelerating rapidly.”
Apology to departing staff and message to those staying
Addressing affected employees, Dorsey wrote, “To those of you leaving… I’m grateful for you, and I’m sorry to put you through this. you built what this company is today. That’s a fact that I’ll honor forever. This decision is not a reflection of what you contributed. You will be a great contributor to any organization going forward.”
He also sought to reassure remaining staff.
“To those staying… I made this decision, and I’ll own it. What I’m asking of you is to build with me. We’re going to build this company with intelligence at the core of everything we do.”
Dorsey added that departing employees would receive 20 weeks of salary as part of their severance package. He assured staff that communication channels would remain open temporarily.
“We’re not going to just disappear people from slack and email and pretend they were never here. Communication channels will stay open through Thursday evening pacific so everyone can say goodbye properly, and share whatever you wish. I’ll also be hosting a live video session to thank everyone at 3:35pm pacific. I know doing it this way might feel awkward. I’d rather it feel awkward and human than efficient and cold.”