• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

3

Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

3

Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
Block

Exclusive: Jack Dorsey’s Block plans more layoffs just days after cuts at Tidal

By
Kali Hays
Kali Hays
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kali Hays
Kali Hays
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 1, 2024, 5:07 PM ET
A bearded Jack Dorsey at a conference in 2021.
Jack Dorsey in 2021.Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Block chief Jack Dorsey isn’t done with layoffs.

Recommended Video

His company, which operates payments service Square, money transfer app CashApp, and music streaming platform Tidal, plans its second round of successive layoffs into December, two employees familiar with the plans told Fortune. The date of the cuts is currently set for next week, as well as the week of December 3, one of the people said, although dates could change should plans shift. The people asked to be kept anonymous as they aren’t authorized to speak about company matters.

The number of employees expected to be impacted by the planned cut is said by the sources to be significant, although an exact number could not be ascertained. Employees at Tidal, developer platform TBD, and other parts of the company are said to be in for cuts.

A spokeswoman for Block declined to comment.

Earlier this week, Block laid off scores of employees at Tidal, including the elimination of all product management and product marketing roles, as Fortune previously reported. Block acquired a majority stake in Tidal in 2021 for about $300 million. In an email to staff about the cuts at Tidal, Dorsey said the company needed to “build like a startup again.”

Dorsey only became noticeably hands-on at Block roughly a year ago, around the time former CEO of Square Alyssa Henry left the company following nearly a decade in various roles. Dorsey took over leadership and has since made steady changes to the company, including multiple rounds of layoffs of more than 1,000 people, strictly capping hiring and headcount, ending employee performance improvement plans, and closing the operations of CashApp in the U.K. while cancelling a planned international expansion of the app.

“The growth of our company has far outpaced the growth of our business and revenue,” Dorsey said late last year in a note to staff. Around that time, he also wrote his first letter in several years to Block shareholders. The company’s stock is flat this year, as Nasdaq soared nearly 22%, and it remains about 70% lower than a 2021 high. Growth in Square and CashApp, Block’s most important segments, started to lag, although Square returned to growth in the most recent quarter.

Now, Dorsey thinks most of the company should be led more by engineering and design teams, and is intent on bringing the operations of the company closer to its early days as a smaller startup, one of the people said. 

The notion of “founder mode,” the idea that founders of companies should run them, not outsiders hired over the years, is having a moment in tech circles. The same is true of “efficiency,” which executives like Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai have promoted over the last 18 months while implementing continual layoffs aimed at improving the speed at which their companies operate.

The trouble for Dorsey, according to some of his Block employees, is that he was either missing or seemingly disinterested by the company for a long time before his abrupt return to control. Before taking over from Henry, Dorsey was Block’s chairperson and held the title of “Block Head.”

“He’s referred to as the absentee dad that just came back and expects his thousands of kids to obey him,” one of the people familiar with the matter said. “He thinks he can operate a 12,000 person company like a start up. It’s been pure chaos.”

Are you a Block employee or someone with insight or a tip to share? Contact Kali Hays securely through Signal at +1-949-280-0267 or at kali.hays@fortune.com.

About the Author
By Kali Hays
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

senate
CommentaryCongress
One rare bipartisan AI bill is moving through Congress. Here’s why it deserves to pass
By Neil Björkman and Betsy BrewerJuly 1, 2026
2 hours ago
I know how Gen Z can survive the ‘jobpocalypse’ because I built an AI company — in 2015
CommentaryCareers
I know how Gen Z can survive the ‘jobpocalypse’ because I built an AI company — in 2015
By Jeremy FainJuly 1, 2026
3 hours ago
mr
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
America needs 3.8 million manufacturing workers. This CEO has a blueprint to find them
By Mark RayfieldJuly 1, 2026
3 hours ago
usa
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
America at 250: why the Constitution was built to restrain government, not celebrate majority rule
By Steve H. HankeJuly 1, 2026
3 hours ago
OCBC rolls out its ‘avatar banking’ platform with ‘Wendy’ and ‘Wayne,’ two virtual financial advisors, as banks integrate AI into wealth management
AsiaSingapore
OCBC rolls out its ‘avatar banking’ platform with ‘Wendy’ and ‘Wayne,’ two virtual financial advisors, as banks integrate AI into wealth management
By Angelica AngJuly 1, 2026
3 hours ago
Top CD rates today, July 1, 2026: Lock in up to up to 4.40%
Personal FinanceCertificates of Deposit (CDs)
Top CD rates today, July 1, 2026: Lock in up to up to 4.40%
By Glen Luke FlanaganJuly 1, 2026
3 hours ago

Most Popular

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
6 days ago
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
4 days ago
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
Success
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
By Sydney LakeJune 29, 2026
2 days ago
'Humanity has chosen to become idiots': This Brown professor switched to take-home exams after a mass shooting and discovered mass cheating
AI
'Humanity has chosen to become idiots': This Brown professor switched to take-home exams after a mass shooting and discovered mass cheating
By Catherina GioinoJune 29, 2026
2 days ago
The U.S. Army is opening military bases to private billions — here's why that changes everything for the next 250 years
Commentary
The U.S. Army is opening military bases to private billions — here's why that changes everything for the next 250 years
By Marc AndersenJune 30, 2026
1 day ago
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
Environment
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
By Catherina GioinoJune 28, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.