Jack Dorsey responded to the reasons for the layoffs: the company did over-hire during the pandemic, but Block remains a "highly efficient company."

PANews reported on February 27th that bond analyst Will Slaughter pointed out that Block's workforce more than tripled in three years, growing from approximately 3,900 to 12,500 employees between December 2019 and December 2022. The current layoffs are less than half of the overstaffing during the pandemic, and the primary reason is attributed to Jack Dorsey's mismanagement of personnel and budget, rather than AI replacing jobs. He added that attributing the layoffs to the "frenzied hiring" during the pandemic is more accurate than the claim that "AI improves efficiency."

Block founder Jack Dorsey retweeted a response acknowledging that the company was severely overstaffed during the COVID-19 pandemic due to operating Square and Cash App as two separate companies. He stated that they will restructure to a single organization by mid-2024 and reduce staff through layoffs. He noted that while handling complex businesses such as lending, banking, and BNPLs for many years, Block maintained a gross profit per employee of approximately $500,000 from 2019 to 2024. The company is now aiming for over $2 million in gross profit per employee, roughly four times its previous efficiency. Before the pandemic, Block's efficiency remained stable at around $500,000 from 2019 to 2024. He emphasized that Block remains a "highly efficient company."