Shares in the financial technology company Block have soared more than 20% in after-hours trading after its CEO announced it was laying off more than 4,000 of its 10,000 some employees due to its use of artificial intelligence.
“The core thesis is simple. Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company,” Jack Dorsey said in a letter to shareholders in Block, the parent company to Square and CashApp. “A significantly smaller team, using the tools we’re building, can do more and do it better,” he said.
