Block lays off 40% of its employees, claiming it’s because of AI, and the stock price rises 17%.

But no one notices that Block expanded from 3,800 to 10,000 employees during the pandemic, and the stock price has fallen 75% over five years. The company itself admits that the organizational structure was set up incorrectly.
AI has become the most convenient narrative for layoffs.
The problem is, when everyone is saying this, companies genuinely undergoing AI transformation are actually not believed.