Laid off from Block.
Block cut nearly half its workforce in one February 2026 stroke and attached the most generous package of the AI layoff era. Generous terms and a 4,000-person cut are both true at once.
At a glance
What's been reported about Block severance packages
- 20 weeks + 1 week per year · Base severance, February 2026
- 6 months of coverage · Healthcare
- $5,000 cash · Transition fund
- Vesting ran through May 2026 · Equity
The latest
Nearly half the company cut in one round
In February 2026, Jack Dorsey cut more than 4,000 roles, close to half of Block's staff, attributing the reduction to AI and predicting most companies would follow within a year. The package became the severance benchmark of the cycle.
Previous rounds
How Block has handled layoffs in the past
Block's February 2026 cut was the loudest AI layoff on record, more than 4,000 people, close to half the company, announced by a full Dorsey statement that framed the reduction as a bet on how AI changes company-building, not a response to weakness. Dorsey said most companies would make similar cuts within a year, a prediction worth remembering wherever you work.
The package set the cycle's benchmark. Twenty weeks of base plus a week per year, six months of healthcare, equity vesting through May, and a $5,000 transition fund, terms that beat Meta's long-standing 16-plus-2 template and landed the same season Oracle's capped 4-plus-1 was drawing fire. HR trade press immediately began measuring other companies' offers against Block's, which makes it a live negotiation anchor far beyond Block.
Half a company entering the market at once changes the job hunt more than the package does. Your former teammates are your competition for the next role, all with identical resumes dated the same month, and twenty weeks of runway burns faster than it sounds when the queue is that long. The generous-package playbook still ends the same way, file for unemployment in week one, map the vesting dates, and treat the transition fund as runway rather than a bonus.
Recent Block layoffs
February 2026 · More than 4,000 roles, nearly half the workforce, attributed to AI rather than financial distress
20 weeks of base pay plus one week per year of tenure, equity vesting through May, six months of healthcare coverage, and a $5,000 transition fund, with employees reported keeping corporate devices.
2024 and 2025 · Repeated smaller trims as Dorsey capped headcount
Terms not published at the 2026 round's detail.
Quick answers
What severance did Block pay in the 2026 layoffs?
20 weeks of base pay plus one week per year of tenure, six months of healthcare, equity vesting through May 2026, and a $5,000 transition fund, with reports of employees keeping corporate devices. It was widely described as the most generous package of the AI layoff cycle.
Why did Block lay off half its staff?
Dorsey attributed it to AI changing how companies operate, explicitly not to financial trouble, and predicted most companies would make similar cuts within a year. Whatever you make of the prediction, the round was a strategy decision, not a distress signal, which is why the package could be rich.
What severance has Block given laid-off employees?
20 weeks + 1 week per year (base severance, february 2026). 20 weeks of base pay plus one week per year of tenure, equity vesting through May, six months of healthcare coverage, and a $5,000 transition fund, with employees reported keeping corporate devices. Packages change between rounds, and your separation agreement is the only version that counts.
Where do I file for unemployment after a Block layoff?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. Block's biggest U.S. hubs are California, Missouri, New York. Severance usually doesn't block you from filing, and benefits run from your filing date, so file the same week.
Should I sign the severance agreement right away?
Not on the spot. First pin down how much review time you actually have. If you're 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider an agreement that waives age claims, 45 in a group layoff, and a waiver signed under a shorter deadline can be invalid. If you're under 40, no federal window applies and the deadline in your packet may be real, so confirm it in writing and ask for more time if you need it. Use whatever window you have to read the release terms, especially non-disparagement and no-lawsuit clauses, and don't stall past a real deadline, because offers can be withdrawn.
Can I collect unemployment if I got severance from Block?
Usually yes, though some states delay benefits until severance pay periods end, and lump sums are treated differently than salary continuation. Check your state's rules on our state benefit pages, and file immediately either way so your claim date is locked in.
Help for people recently laid off from Block
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. Block's biggest hubs: California, Missouri, New York. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
- Don't sign the severance agreement on the spot. Find out in writing how long you have to review it. At 40 or older, federal law guarantees 21 days, 45 in group layoffs. Under 40, the packet's deadline may be real, so ask for time rather than assume. Read our severance breakdown first. The clauses matter more than the number.
- Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses.
- Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
- Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.