Block Axes Half Its Workforce, Stock Soars 20%
Block is cutting more than 4,000 employees — roughly half its staff — and investors are loving it.
Block just took a machete to its headcount. The payments giant is slashing more than 4,000 jobs from its 10,000-plus workforce, effectively cutting the company in half.
The market's response? Euphoria. Shares of XYZ (Block's ticker) surged more than 19% in after-hours trading, with some reports pegging the jump north of 20%.
It's a brutal but increasingly familiar playbook in tech: gut your workforce, watch your stock price climb. Investors tend to reward aggressive cost-cutting as a signal of fiscal discipline, even when it means thousands of people cleaning out their desks.
Block hasn't detailed which teams or divisions are most affected. What's clear is that the company is betting a leaner operation will deliver stronger results going forward.
For the 4,000-plus employees shown the door, the math is less cheerful.