At least four Block employees have rejoined the company after being cut during the firm’s sweeping workforce reduction in February.
These rehires do little to offset the fact that Block reduced its workforce by nearly half, from over 10,000 to just under 6,000.
Jack Dorsey, the company’s co-founder, said the decision was driven by structural and strategic changes to how the company works.
Coinbase’s former chief technology officer, Balaji Srinivasan, called this the first “AI cut” and predicted it would send shockwaves through the tech industry.
“Learn the AI tools and raise your game. Or you might not make the cut, as an employee or as a company,” Srinivasan warned.
Automation and AI are changing workflows. Smaller teams are expected to accomplish more, and that has sparked concerns about the AI productivity paradox.
Not just big firms like Amazon and Block are affected. Disruptions in the labor market are also affecting the crypto industry, which has been gaining mainstream adoption.
The sector has faced a tough downturn, and several teams have recently restructured as a result.
Earlier today, Algorand said it had cut its workforce by 25% in response to market conditions and macro uncertainty.
The company joins a growing list of crypto firms, including OP Labs, Gemini, and OKX, which have made similar moves.
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