Block Inc. Trims Its Recruitment Team

Block, the $26bn fintech decacorn who owns Square, CashApp, and Shopify, has recently laid off a significant portion of its recruitment staff. The company, which has mostly managed to stay out of the recent flurry of fintech layoffs, had to let go of about half its talent team, according to statements from employees.

Internal Channels Announce the Layoffs

Block employees were informed of these layoffs through official Slack channels. Although the specific individuals impacted have not been identified, it was revealed that several members of Block’s recruitment staff had left the company before the announcement. Among them were Kevin Calhoun, an operational recruiter at CashApp who joined Coca-Cola in July, and Minal Virma, a senior technical recruiter who left to become an executive director at sandwich company Stacked.

Fintech Industry Experiences Recruitment Layoffs

These layoffs raise intriguing questions about the company’s hiring strategy. Some theorize it could signal a hiring freeze, but employees suggest teams with open positions were asked to wait a few days until a new recruitment representative was assigned to support these roles.

It’s also worth noting that Block is not the only fintech company experiencing recruitment layoffs. Brex, the $12bn fintech firm, also saw similar trends. Senior technical recruiter Jake Lu left the company after four years to join Scale AI, and several other recruitment staff were impacted by layoffs last year.

Block’s Growing Concerns

The company had over 12,000 employees earlier this year, a significant number compared to other fintech companies. Despite the impressive median total compensation of $198.4k at the company in 2022, as revealed by its annual report in June, the company’s stock price has been struggling. For instance, it hit its lowest value since March 2020 last week.

Square, one of Block’s divisions, did not respond when asked for comment. It remains to be seen how these layoffs will impact the company’s overall direction and strategy.