Square/Block employees - do you think layoffs are coming?
I have a buddy that just got an offer but hasn’t accepted it yet and is nervous about leaving his current company. His current company hasn’t announced any layoffs yet and he doesn’t believe they will (based on internal discussions) but he is interested in finding another job, specifically at Block because he really likes the company and product suite. Are there any Block/Square/Cash App employees on Blind that have any insight into this area? How is the vibe internally? Do y’all feel like layoffs may be coming? Has there been any talk or even any behavior that folks have noticed that might point to potential layoffs? Do people feel good and feel like there’s no way layoffs would happen? Do folks just have no idea? Just wondering so I can give some advice to my friend if possible. Thanks in advance! #layoffs #block #square #cashapp #tech
As someone who’s also joining soon this is concerning
No square employees I know are concerned about it. Q3 financials were really good
Lol. Anyone who joined from mid 2022 or before got absolutely screwed and is down massively. There's a lot of negative sentiment and they won't fix comp for existing employees.
Personally, Not concerned at this point. But who knows.
Most people do not think there will be mass layoffs but there may be a hiring freeze and hiring slowdown. I think more people may get pipped. I think it depends how we do next quarter - this quarter we beat our expectations earnings so...
leadership has been pretty adamant about not needing to do mass layoffs. Some teams will certainly see reductions based on priorities but no one is expecting a 15% cut across the board. That said, our revenue is directly impacted by consumer spending so if the economy turns then leaderships tune could change very quickly. People arent panicked but the vibe is cautious.
To add to above, our leadership has indicated flat headcount for next year. But I do see interviews still going on even this week. That doesn't indicate anything since even doordash did layoffs today. I don't have direct answer to your question but probably very few do.
Door dash is arguably more bloated compared to block; they also had a massive 121% increase in employee size between 2021 and 2022. Of course, Square seemed to have hired like crazy this year, so it can get rocky if performance doesn’t hold up.
If you think DD grew too rapidly, you haven’t seen Block’s headcount growth in past 2 year. We doubled (acquisition included) in headcount since 2020 and still continuing to hire which suggests 1. We are seeing something that others can’t see 2. We have exponentially high attrition and we’re trying to backfill like crazy.
No one here is likely to know. My org still has headcount but that may or may not mean anything. Personally, I think we are over hiring and would do layoffs soon.
The employee size is around 9000 for all of block right? I’d hope they don’t add on to that.
I just joined square and shit scared now based on what's happening in the market. I will be first on the chopping block if layoffs happen. To make things worse I am even on fking visa
anecdotally this hasnt been true. my friends who switched in last 2 months recently have been safe in layoffs after they joined
I hope you are right my friend. Nothing would make me happy
In reality nobody knows and you will find out the day of layoffs (DoorDash) or few days in advance (Meta if WSJ publishes article). All arguments like “We had successful quarter” are no longer a factor (look at DoorDash, nobody saw it coming). Not trying to create FUD here, but at this point nobody is safe anywhere. Need to accept layoffs as part of lifestyle in 2022 and 2023.
You're spot on. It's Not FUD. We( not only square, anyone) better be aware and prepared for worst in this environment than being ignorant. No company is an exception in current market.
True. It's a gamble switching jobs in this market period. That said, everything is relative. If someone is willing to take the risk of switching jobs right now, Block seems to be less risky than a lot of our competitors at the moment. Great Q3 numbers, good press on Afterpay's performance through Black Friday and Cyber Monday. No sweeping hiring freezes, no mass layoffs. That of course could change tomorrow. Who knows. However the point is based on the info that's available, Block seems pretty stable relative to other companies. If someone is looking to switch jobs, if not Block, where seems better?
At block now, I definitely think layoffs are coming and am actively looking to leave. My team has -3 headcount for 2023, so at least I’ll be contributing to our long term goals
Your team has negative headcount for 2023?
Yup