Block Planning Layoffs of Up to 10% of Its Workforce

The firm has been informing hundreds of employees that their positions could be eliminated during their yearly performance reviews amid a wider business overhaul, Bloomberg News reported Saturday (Feb. 7), citing sources familiar with the matter.

The report notes that Block, which had under 11,000 employees as of late November, has been revamping its staffing and business model since 2024. The company is attempting to integrate its peer-to-peer payments service Cash App with the merchant-focused Square, while also expanding other parts of its operation focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto.

PYMNTS has contacted Block for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.

Sources told Bloomberg job cuts have been occurring throughout different teams during the performance reviews, which go through the latter part of this month. The hope is to help Block reach the $12 billion gross profit target it set for this year.

The report points out that Block’s recent earnings performance has been inconsistent, with its stock down substantially in the last year. The company is due to report earnings Feb. 26.

Block announced last month it had provided more than $200 billion in credit to customers across its Cash App Borrow, Afterpay and Square Loans products.

The company says these borrowers include those who may be shut out from traditional credit systems, and it has seen strong repayment behavior by these customers.

“Through this work, Block is proving that with the right technology, inclusive lending and responsible risk management aren’t opposing forces; rather, they’re the foundation of sustainable credit for the next generation,” the company said in a news release.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS spoke recently with Block Chief Risk Officer Brian Boates about the limitations of today’s credit underwriting system, which he said was designed for a slower economy, and now struggles to keep up with modern money movement.

“The traditional credit system is measuring current financial behavior with outdated tools, leading to gaps and disconnects that are increasingly problematic for both lenders and borrowers,” Boates said.

These are not marginal gaps, with nearly 100 million Americans blocked from affordable credit as scoring models use backward-looking data rather than how people are managing money now. In Boates’ view, the problem isn’t consumer behavior, but the tools used to study it.

“When the focus shifts to near real-time data, there is better understanding of how people actually manage their money and ultimately, their creditworthiness,” he said.