What Really Happened Before Jack Dorsey Cut 40% of Block?

Block Stock (XYZ) Performance. Source: Google Finance Blocks $68 Million Party Draws Criticism

Meanwhile, Jack Dorsey has sparked outrage and debate with a spectacle that many critics say redefines corporate norms.

In September 2025, the former Twitter CEO reportedly spent $68.1 million on a Block in-person event, an amount roughly equal to the annual payroll of 200 employees.

The three-day festival in downtown Oakland featured performances by Jay-Z, Anderson .Paak, T-Pain, and Soulja Boy, and brought 8,000 employees from around the globe.

Block just FIRED 4,000 people.

Nearly half the company, gone in a single day.

The reason Jack Dorsey gave？ AI can do their jobs now.

But here‘s what nobody’s talking about.

200 days ago, Block threw a party.

Not a regular company party.

The party, recorded in Blocks own earnings as a $68.1 million increase in general and administrative expenses, has drawn widespread criticism.

Social media users described it as “psycho” and “crazy,” with some pointing to the stark contrast between celebration and accountability, particularly in light of the layoffs that followed.

To some, the spectacle of the $68 million party followed by mass layoffs sends a troubling message about priorities and managerial judgment.

It highlights the dangers of pandemic-era overexpansion and executive indulgence, with some critics arguing that the layoffs were a correction of years of overhiring and mismanagement.

This is CRAZY.

It turns out Jack Dorseys Block $XYZ spent $68 million on a single party in September 2025, roughly the annual payroll for 200 employees at $340,000 each.

Then 5 months later, he laid off 4,000 people (40% of the companys workforce), citing AI and intelligence…

“Yes, we over-hired during COVID because I incorrectly built 2 separate company structures (Square & Cash App) rather than 1, which we corrected mid-2024. But this misses all the complexity we took on through lending, banking, and BNPL. And that were now targeting $2M+ gross profit per person, 4x our pre-COVID efficiency, which stayed flat at ~$500k from 2019 until 2024. We have and do run an efficient company… better than most,” Dorsey responded.

Meanwhile, others see the layoffs as AI-washing, a convenient cover for structural inefficiencies.

“Sam Altman previously stated that ‘some firms are attributing job cuts to AI, when in reality, those layoffs were already planned or would have occurred regardless.’ He describes this, along with other exaggerations of AI capabilities, as ”AI washing“… a tactic aimed at masking business issues. Just saying,” noted Graham Stephan.

Notwithstanding, Coinbases first CTO, Balaji Srinivasan, suggests that it signals a broader shift in tech toward AI-driven productivity and smaller teams.

Block‘s severance packages, including 20 weeks’ pay, six months of healthcare, equity, and $5,000 in transition support, were generous by tech standards.