Job Hunting Becomes Harder as Mass Layoffs Surge—Technology Boss Reveals Alarming Facts

Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter and Block, has revealed the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the world of work. He is not the first chief executive to state that AI will change employment.

However, he is among those who openly declare that such changes are already occurring within his company. In his statement on Thursday, Dorsey, CEO and co-founder of Block Inc. (XYZ.N), affirmed that AI technology has transformed how the company is operated.

“Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company. We have already seen this internally. Much smaller teams using those tools can do more and do it better,” Dorsey said, quoted from Reuters on Sunday (1 March 2026).

“I don’t think we are reacting too quickly to this. I think most companies are already behind,” he added whilst outlining plans to cut more than 4,000 jobs—nearly half of the company’s workforce—as part of a restructuring to embed AI across the fintech company’s operations.

Block’s shares surged on Friday, highlighting how the market increasingly values companies that present AI not as an experiment but as a driver of structural change.

Dorsey also issued a stern warning to his peers, stating that most companies are lagging in AI and will reach the same conclusion within a year.

“I would rather reach it honestly and in our own way than be forced to do it reactively,” he said.

To date, most executives have resisted such broad conclusions, even though their companies have invested billions of pounds in the technology.

Those comments are likely to sharpen the growing debate amongst executives, economists, investors, and policymakers: is AI primarily a tool that helps workers do more—or a tool that allows companies to accomplish the same tasks with far fewer people?

“AI is the new scapegoat,” said Brian Jacobsen, head of economic strategy at Annex Wealth Management, on Friday.

However, the market is increasingly concerned about AI’s potential to transform the job market and profit margins amid an uncertain global economic backdrop.

A widely circulated report this week by Citrini Research outlined a 2028 scenario in which unemployment rises to 10.2%, driven by rapid worker displacement in software, logistics, and delivery sectors.