The technology company Blockfounded by the creator of Twitter, announced a massive staff cut that will nearly halve its global workforce. The decision was communicated by its CEO, Jack Dorseywho attributed the adjustment to the structural impact that artificial intelligence is having on the way companies are built and managed.
Block, owner of Square, Cash App and Tidal, will go from about 10,000 employees to less than 6,000. More than 4,000 workers will be dismissed or will enter internal consultation processes. This is the largest adjustment in the company’s history and the first that the firm explicitly links to the adoption of artificial intelligence tools.
In a letter to shareholders and employees, Dorsey argued that A.I. “fundamentally changes what it means to create and operate a business” and anticipated that other companies will reach the same conclusion in the next year. “Most companies will reach this same conclusion and make similar structural changes,” he said.
The executive assured that the decision does not respond to financial problems. According to the latest balance sheet, Block recorded growth in its customer base and profits towards the end of last year. Still, the company expects to face up to $500 million in restructuring costs linked to the cut.
In a subsequent message, Dorsey acknowledged that the company oversized its workforce during the pandemic, although he minimized that factor and defended that today it can operate more efficiently thanks to what he called “intelligence tools”. As he explained, the new systems allow working with “smaller and flatter” teams, with fewer hierarchical levels.
Market reaction was positive: Block shares They rose more than 20% in operations after the announcement.
The movement is part of a broader wave of adjustments in the technology industry. In January, Amazon laid off about 16,000 employees after cutting another 14,000 positions months earlier. Meta, Microsoft and Google They also made layoffs in parallel with sharp increases in their investment in artificial intelligence.
In the sector, more and more companies are incorporating systems capable of generating programming code automatically, such as Claude Code from Anthropic or Codex from OpenAI. These tools promise to speed up software development and reduce the need for large technical teams, fueling debate about the impact of AI on skilled employment.
Not everyone agrees that the technology is already producing significant productivity gains. Different surveys among executives show that many AI projects have not yet translated into concrete improvements in results. In this context, some analysts warn that part of the cuts could respond to pending adjustments following the expansion of hiring during the pandemic rather than a direct replacement by automated systems.
Dorsey, however, advocated a more frontal approach. He noted that he could have implemented the cuts gradually, but opted for a drastic decision to avoid successive rounds of layoffs that he said erode morale and internal confidence.
Co-founder of Twitter, the social network that was later acquired by Elon Musk and renamed XDorsey Thus, it once again remains at the center of the debate on the future of work in the technology industry.at a time when artificial intelligence redefines strategies, investments and organizational structures in large companies in the sector.
The situation in Argentina
In the midst of the global wave of cuts in technology and professional services, warning signs began to go off in Argentina in the financial and consulting sector. In recent days, reports have circulated about separations in the local PwC subsidiary and adjustments in banking entities with a strong presence in the country.
In the case of PwCit emerged on social networks that the cut could reach up to 200 positions. Company sources denied that figure to Clarín and indicated that recent departures would be in a lower range, between 40 and 60 people. They also assured that the firm has about 6,300 employees in Argentina and that annual personnel movements do not exceed, in general terms, 1% of the workforce.
From the company they explained that the dynamics of the business force them to constantly redefine profiles and services. In this framework, some positions are no longer aligned with customer demand while new ones are created. In fact, they highlighted that during 2025 they incorporated around 750 professionals and that they plan to add a similar number this year, especially in their Acceleration Center Buenos Aires, which exports services to the United States and Canada.
The company also rejected reports about office closures or moving operations outside the country. As indicated, Argentina maintains competitive advantages such as professional talent and time coincidence with the United States, a key factor for the export business of knowledge-based services.
However, the background is a broader adjustment process. Globally, PwC cut thousands of jobs in its last fiscal year and put aggressive expansion plans on hold. The firm announced million-dollar investments in artificial intelligence, with a focus on automating tasks that were traditionally performed by junior profiles, in line with a search for greater operational efficiency.
Concern also reached the banking sector. The La Bancaria union warned of massive voluntary withdrawals at Banco Santander and linked them to a branch reduction plan. The entity acknowledged the closure of nine service points so far this year, although they denied that this necessarily implies layoffs and highlighted that 90% of transactions are already carried out through digital channels.
According to the bank, in-person attendance has been falling around 30% annually, in parallel with the growth in the use of its mobile application. In this context, they maintain that the redesign of the physical network responds to a structural change in customer habits rather than a temporary adjustment.