US stock movement | Nearly half of layoffs due to AI efficiency improvements Block(XYZ.US) surged nearly 15% at the market open

Bloomberg News has learned that on Friday, Block (XYZ.US) surged nearly 15% in early trading, reaching $62.55. According to reports, Block announced on Thursday that it will lay off over 4,000 employees, approximately half of its total workforce. Co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey stated in a letter to shareholders, “Today, we announced a difficult decision to our team. The company’s size will be reduced by nearly half, from over 10,000 employees to less than 6,000, meaning more than 4,000 employees will leave or enter the negotiation process.”

This layoff announcement was released simultaneously with Block’s Q4 earnings report. The financials showed that the payment company’s adjusted earnings per share for the quarter were 65 cents, with revenue reaching $6.25 billion, roughly in line with analyst expectations of 65 cents per share and $6.24 billion in revenue. The company’s gross profit increased 24% year-over-year to $2.87 billion.

Block CFO Amrita Ahuja said that the layoffs will lay a solid foundation for the company’s “long-term growth in the next phase.” Ahuja stated, “We chose to adjust our operational model as the company’s business accelerates. We recognize that by building a leaner, high-quality team and leveraging AI to automate more tasks, we can move forward at a faster pace.”