Current, former employees say AI cannot replace the thousands of workers made redundant in Block's major restructuring
A wave of discontent is building inside Block after chief executive Jack Dorsey credited artificial intelligence in a recent major lay-off that impacted nearly half of its workforce, according to reports.
Current and former staff are now insisting that the technology cannot replace the thousands of workers who lost their jobs.
Naoko Takeda, a former employee at Block, wrote in a LinkedIn post that the situation was "nothing short of dystopian."
"Everything was about AI. We were told to use AI as much as possible. It's nothing short of dystopian to be forced to employ the very tools that accelerate the disappearance of the jobs on which our livelihoods depend," Takeda said on LinkedIn.
"Personally, I saw very limited gains in productivity from AI, nothing nearly profound enough to justify tossing out half of the company's workforce along with their institutional knowledge and expertise."
Takeda was one of the employees who survived Dorsey's massive lay-off announcement in late February, which the CEO attributed to the development of AI tools.
But Takeda also decided to leave the organisation after the announcement, where around 70% of her immediate and sister teams were being exited.
"On my immediate team, the only people left were me and a new hire who had started three days ago. I felt immense dread and survivor's guilt," she said.
Dorsey reportedly offered retained employees packages that increased their pay significantly, including a one-time bonus.
"That's not an honour," Takeda said. "It feels shameful and dehumanising. I'd rather see my peers keep their jobs than personally profit from their trauma."
"The remaining 60% of us were offered fat paychecks to stick around and clean up the mess our 'leadership' created, all so we can continue contributing to a future where AI leaves us all unemployed. No thanks, I'm out!"
Takeda said she was mad over the company's "deeply problematic" choices, a feeling that she said was felt by many others in the organisation.
"Anger is a feeling of perceived injustice, a valid reaction to these events," she stated.
Strong pushback from Block staff
Her remarks echo concerns raised by several current and former Block workers who spoke anonymously to The Guardian following the cuts.
In the report, one former product employee, identified as Mark, questioned the company's claim that AI could drive the business without human oversight, saying some tasks still required human judgement and long-term vision.
"You can't really AI that," he told The Guardian, adding that "an employee is more than a series of tasks."
Mark, who was among roughly 4,000 employees laid off, also criticised how the tools were being used to justify the scale of reductions.
"The way in which they are using these tools as justification to fire half the company is ludicrous," he said, arguing that staff were effectively asked to help automate parts of their own roles.
Other insiders told The Guardian that AI adoption at Block shifted from encouragement to an expectation, with usage monitored and factored into performance discussions.
John, a current employee who helps colleagues use these tools, said that about 95% of AI-generated code still needed human tweaks and pushed back on suggestions that the technology could replace workers at this pace.
"We're just not there yet," he said.
"There's a distinction between what's technically possible and just – pardon my French – whatever CEO bullshit will happen based on their own interpretation of how AI works," John told The Guardian.
AI-washing accusations
Dorsey's decision to lay off employees has garnered widespread criticism that he was using AI as a scapegoat for the cuts, a perspective that his former employees shared.
George, a current Block employee, characterised the move as "posturing for the market."
"This was a bold move to reposition the company away from crypto and towards AI and also change the public market narrative around the company," he told The Guardian.
Dorsey has maintained that the decision was not because the company was in trouble.
On X, the chief executive maintained that the business is strong and gross profit continues to grow.
"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," he said on the social media platform.
Dorsey said he chose the "hard, clear action" of being honest and immediately acting on the lay-offs instead of implementing staggered cuts due to its impact on the workforce.
"Repeated rounds of cuts are destructive to morale, to focus, and to the trust that customers and shareholders place in our ability to lead," he said.
"I'd rather take a hard, clear action now and build from a position we believe in than manage a slow reduction of people toward the same outcome."
Employees who were affected will receive their salary for 20 weeks, in addition to one week per year of tenure. They will also get equity vested through the end of May, six months of health care, their corporate devices, and $5,000 that they can use for the transition.
"To those of you leaving… I'm grateful for you, and I'm sorry to put you through this," he said.
The chief executive also told retained staff that he is holding himself accountable for the cuts.
"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," he said.
