Block, Inc., the financial technology company behind Square, Cash App, and Afterpay, has quietly rehired a small number of employees weeks after laying off over 4,000 workers in late February 2026. The layoffs, which reduced the company's workforce from over 10,000 to under 6,000 employees (a roughly 40% cut), were part of a major restructuring driven by the company's shift towards greater reliance on artificial intelligence.
The rehires, confirmed through employee posts on LinkedIn, involve at least four individuals across different teams. Design engineer Andrew Harvard stated he was rehired after being told his layoff was due to a "clerical error." Creative strategy lead Chane Rennie also confirmed returning to the company about a week after being laid off.
Internal advocacy played a role in some returns. Technical lead Richard Hesse, who was the sole survivor on his team after the cuts, spent two days convincing management he needed more staff to work on "infrastructure highly critical to our customers." His efforts resulted in the company deciding to re-hire some of his former colleagues.
Block CEO Jack Dorsey acknowledged at the time of the layoffs that the company may have made missteps and had built in flexibility to correct course. He stated that recent advances in AI tools "fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company" and forced Block to restructure. However, some fired employees pushed back against the assertion that AI tools can effectively replace workers at scale, with some believing the cuts were a move to regain investor confidence amid a double-digit decline in Block's share price this year.
The rehires appear to be targeted adjustments rather than a reversal of strategy. Block currently has only 27 job listings on its website, primarily for manager or account executive roles, with none specifically mentioning AI in the descriptions. The company's overall headcount remains significantly reduced.
The news coincides with similar workforce adjustments across the crypto industry. On the same day, the Algorand Foundation announced a 25% headcount reduction, blaming the crypto slump and macroeconomic uncertainty. Blockchain analytics firm Messari also announced staff cuts as part of its own transition to become an AI-first company.
