"The Job Quake" Begins: Layoff of 4000 Employees at Blocks Due to Artificial Intelligence
In a shocking move that shakes the tech world, Jack Dorsey, the former founder of Twitter, announced the layoff of around 4000 employees from his company Blocks, which owns Square, as part of a major restructuring that relies on artificial intelligence tools to enhance productivity.
Dorsey stated in a statement posted on his X account today, Friday:
"Today we made one of the hardest decisions in the company's history, reducing our organizational structure from over 10,000 employees to less than 6,000, meaning that more than 4,000 employees will be asked to leave."
Despite this significant step, Dorsey indicated that the reason for the decision is not due to a financial crisis or a decline in business, affirming that the company's profits are strong and its growth continues.
He added: "We are already seeing that the AI tools we are innovating and using are enabling new ways of working, which is leading to radical transformations in our approach."
Regarding the method of layoffs, Dorsey clarified that he had two options:
gradual or immediate layoffs, and he chose the latter as it was less painful, directing a message of thanks and apology to the employees:
"I am grateful to you, and I apologize for what you are going through. You are the ones who built what the company is today, and this decision does not reflect the value of what you have contributed. You will be a great addition to any future organization."
For their part, experts believe that this step represents the beginning of the "job quake" imposed by artificial intelligence on the labor market.
Abdullah Al-Asiri, founder of Lucidia, explained that the goal of the decision is to increase the productivity of the remaining employees through artificial intelligence, confirming that mass layoffs instead of gradual ones will be compensated by an increase in the company's productivity.
He noted that the company's stock price rising by 26% reflects market satisfaction with this step and may encourage other companies to follow the same approach.
At the same time, Mohammed Qassem emphasized that the job quake has become inevitable, calling on governments to enact laws that ensure the protection of employees and guarantee the continuation of their jobs regardless of how artificial intelligence tools evolve.
