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Jack Dorsey’s plan to lay off almost 1,000 employees in a new restructuring of his company | Technology

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Block, Jack Dorsey’s Financial Technology Company, is letting go of nearly 1,000 current employees while also implementing other changes to its business in its second major move in over a year.

Dorsey, who co-founded Twitter before founding the Block in 2009 and previously served as the CEO of Twitter, informed employees of the impending layoffs in an email titled “Small Block,” which was seen by the Guardian. The layoffs will impact over 930 employees, transition almost 200 managers to unmanaged roles, and close nearly 800 open positions.

Block operates payment platform Square, money transfer app CashApp, and music streaming service Tidal.

Dorsey stated in the email that the layoffs and organizational changes were not aimed at specific financial targets, replacing individuals with AI, or changing staffing limits. This reorganization follows a previous one in early 2024, where around 1,000 employees were laid off and Dorsey reduced the workforce to approximately 12,000 employees.

Instead, Dorsey explained that this latest reorganization is intended to raise performance standards, streamline the organization, and promote quicker decision-making. Last year, Dorsey used a similar approach in notifying staff about layoffs, emphasizing the need to “rebuild like a startup.”

In the recent email, Dorsey expressed that “we have been slow to act, and that is not fair to individuals or the company.”

The Block’s stocks have declined by 29% this year. Despite Dorsey taking on more operational responsibilities, concerns have been raised by shareholders about the company’s revenue and profits. Dorsey highlighted in the email that part of his role is to increase the company’s stock value, and the reorganization will enable them to focus and execute effectively towards that goal.

“When we identify a need for action, we must act decisively, and there has been a lack of action,” the CEO stated. “We need to enhance accessibility, transparency, and automation as our industry must evolve quickly to stay ahead of changing trends.”

A spokesperson for the Block did not respond to requests for comments or emails.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Alan Turing Institute in the UK commences consultation on potential lay offs due to AI advancements

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The National Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science in Britain has initiated a consultation process that may result in the redundancy of 440 employees.

In a memo sent to staff this month, the Alan Turing Institute announced an update on its new strategy, which involves focusing on a smaller number of projects.

Addressed to “affected employees,” the letter mentioned that government-backed labs might have to reduce their workforce. Unofficial estimates suggest that the memo could have been sent to about 140 individuals.

The institute collaborates with universities, private companies, and government agencies on 111 active projects. An internal document states that they will need to scale back their involvement in some projects.

Last year, the institute introduced a new strategy called “Turing 2.0,” with a focus on health, environment, defense, and security. However, due to lower core funding, they are considering restructuring and potentially closing certain projects.

The institute is evaluating which projects align with their new strategy and could lead to staff reductions. They aim to minimize layoffs and will involve employee representatives in the decision-making process.

Dr. Jean Innes, the institute’s CEO, mentioned that they are entering a new ambitious phase to address societal challenges using technology.

Named after the renowned mathematician, the institute was initially focused on data science before including AI in its mission in 2017. Its objectives include conducting top-notch research to tackle global issues and fostering informed discussions about AI.

With upcoming government announcements on technology, the institute is gearing up for potential changes. This includes launching an “AI Action Plan” led by Technology Entrepreneur Matt Clifford, focusing on economic growth and public service enhancement.

Additionally, there are plans to establish a legally binding AI model testing agreement with tech companies, separate the UK AI Safety Institute from the Turing Institute, and introduce a consultation on the proposed AI bill.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Dyson Ltd plans to lay off over a quarter of its workforce in the UK.

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Dyson, a maker of vacuum cleaners and air purifiers, will be reducing its UK workforce by more than a quarter by cutting around 1,000 jobs as part of a global restructuring effort. Employees were informed of the job cuts on Tuesday morning, which is part of a larger initiative to cut 15,000 jobs worldwide.

The company, famous for its bagless vacuum cleaners, hand dryers, and bladeless fans, currently employs 3,500 people in the UK across offices in Wiltshire, Bristol, and London. The decision to make these cuts was made before the announcement of the general election in May.

These job cuts were announced on the same day that Commerce and Trade Minister John Reynolds held a conference call with 170 business and industry leaders to discuss priorities and answer questions.

Dyson’s CEO, Hanno Kilner, stated that the company operates in a highly competitive global market where innovation and change are accelerating rapidly, requiring them to be agile and entrepreneurial. While growth is a priority, the company regularly reviews its global structure to ensure it is prepared for the future, even though job cuts are “always very painful.” Kilner promised support for those affected by the cuts.

Founded in 1991 by inventor Sir James Dyson in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, Dyson conducts the majority of its product research, development, and design in the UK. The UK will remain the primary research and development base for the company, with Malmesbury housing the Dyson Laboratory.

In Asia, Dyson faces competition from local rivals and has seen the importance of Asian supply chains and customers grow. In 2019, Dyson moved its headquarters to Singapore in response to this shift. The company has expanded from vacuum cleaners to other products like hair dryers, fans, and air purifiers, and has plans to launch robotics products in the future.

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Dyson paid a dividend of 1.2 billion pounds to its founder’s Singapore-based holding company two years ago. The company has earned a total of 4 billion pounds from its tech companies over the past five years. Dyson’s founder is one of the wealthiest businessmen in Britain, with an estimated fortune of £20.8 billion as of May.

In December, Dyson lost a libel lawsuit against the Daily Mirror’s publishers after being accused of hypocrisy for supporting Brexit before moving the company’s headquarters to Singapore.

Source: www.theguardian.com

eBay to lay off 1,000 employees in letter to staff from online retailer

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eBay, an online retailer, has announced that it will cut around 1,000 roles, which is an estimated 9% of its current workforce. eBay CEO Jamie Iannone stated in a letter to employees, “While we are making progress in line with our strategy, our overall headcount and expenses are outpacing business growth.” He added, “To address this, we are implementing organizational changes to align and integrate certain teams to improve the end-to-end experience and better meet the needs of our customers around the world.”


In addition to the job cuts, the company plans to reduce the number of “in-term” contracts. Iannone added, “alternative workforce.” He also stated that company administrators would notify employees whose roles were “eliminated” and asked all eBay staff to work from home on Wednesday “to ensure space and privacy for conversations.” He added, “We recognize that these actions are not something we take lightly and they impact all eBayers. We must say goodbye to people who have made many important contributions to the eBay community and culture, and this is not an easy task.” Last February, eBay laid off 500 employees, 4% of its workforce worldwide, citing a slowdown in consumer spending for the boom in e-commerce spending during the pandemic.

The number of layoffs within Silicon Valley has accelerated recently, with some of the world’s most prominent technology companies instituting large-scale layoff programs in recent months. A memo sent by Google CEO Sundar Pichai earlier this month warned staff that more job cuts could occur this year as the company looks to increase investment in artificial intelligence. The company will cut its workforce by 12,000 in early 2023. This comes after Mark Zuckerberg’s “meta” revealed in March last year that the company plans to cut 10,000 jobs from a peak of 87,000 employees in 2022. This month, language learning app Duolingo also lost about 10% of its contract employees as part of the company’s move to increase its reliance on AI.

Amazon cut hundreds of jobs across its streaming platform Twitch and its film and TV studio division in the second week of January. In December, music streaming service Spotify announced plans to cut 17% of its workforce, which equates to about 1,500 fewer employees.

According to data, more than 13,000 people have been laid off at 72 companies so far this year, according to layoffs.fyi, which tracks job losses in the tech industry.

Source: www.theguardian.com