Jack Dorsey announces almost 50% layoff at Blocks due to massive AI adoption.
When mass layoffs started in tech, many people suggested that:
The layoffs were happening because, during COVID, companies hired too many people for online and remote roles.
That AI was attacking jobs.
And I still keep seeing statements from creators of various AI tools saying:
“No, AI won’t replace you. Employees will just have time for more meaningful tasks in a company.”
But that’s not entirely true.
If AI can handle most of the work, what exactly are all those “other meaningful tasks” that AI wouldn’t be able to do?
What will the surplus employees do? Clean office windows? Probably not.
Today (or rather yesterday), Jack Dorsey announced nearly a 50% layoff, explicitly citing AI as the reason.
So I’m curious about your perspective:
What will all of us (or at least half of us) do when AI replaces a large portion of our work?
Will you go back to manual trades/craftsmanship?
Among my friends, many of whom are currently in developer roles, I’ve noticed they’re enrolling in various craftsmanship courses (since, for now, they still have the time and money).
Replies
vibecoder.date
Where I live the trades don't have as much of a formal pipeline as in the US, so it's hard to answer.
In the even of UBI, there isn't much to worry about in general.
in the dystopia mass unemployment timeline, I have plans to run a business profitable enough to work but not large enough that it will make me a target. Definitely nothing that the rightfully angry crowd will persecute me for.
I should have just become a machinist and specialized in CNC machining.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@build_with_aj yesterday, my dev friends proclaimed that the closer we are to the hardware, the less our job is paid. Is it true? (I dunno, I am not so much in tech)
vibecoder.date
@busmark_w_nika
It varies a lot. and hardware is very dependent on region. In my country, as in many, there are a few cities which are industrial manufacturing epicenters, and there is plenty of opportunity in the industrial control, CNC, general industrial robotics, and even climate control systems automation.
But hardware gets localized and some specialties aren't always in demand.
I'm starting a "Human's first" campaign. I'm tired of check out lines where humans were fired. I miss being greeted when I arrived to get my hair cut. There is a class of people who need there to be jobs operating elevators.
In Star Trek people were things like bar tenders because they wanted to be - not because they had to be, they didn't have to be anything.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@joseph_henzi Just this mindset should be applied across the whole society, we need more individuals operating in this mode.
What I find notable about Dorsey's letter: 'we're not doing this because we're in trouble. Our business is strong.' That's new — it's not a rescue cut, it's a structural reset from strength. A profitable company choosing to need fewer people because the tools now make it possible.
The uncomfortable part for anyone building in this space: there's no villain in the traditional sense. No failing business, no opportunistic cost-cutting. Just a rational actor arriving at a new equilibrium faster than the labor market can adapt.
Joseph's 'humans first' instinct gets more interesting in that light — it's not charity toward struggling companies, it's an active choice to value human labor even when it's not strictly necessary. Most economic frameworks weren't built for that scenario.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@giammbo It was pretty obvious that companies will not hire people from altruism when AI steps in :D
@busmark_w_nika True — and that's usually the story. What's different here is Dorsey's own framing: "our business is strong." Most AI layoffs are survival mode. This one is deliberate, from profit. That's the part that travels — it gives cover to every other CEO who was waiting for a good reason.
I don’t think it’s as simple as “AI replaces half of us” or “AI just helps us do more meaningful work.” What I’m seeing is that AI compresses teams. The same output can now be achieved with fewer people, which changes hiring math more than it changes human value.
The real shift, in my opinion, is not manual trades vs. tech. It’s adaptability. People who learn how to work with AI, design systems around it, and think in terms of leverage will likely stay relevant. The rest of the roles that were mostly coordination or repetition are the most exposed.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@vik_sh I wanted to say that not everybody will be replaced, we need to do something, but in that case, we need to create new job positions capturing new problems and situation.
Curious to see what the domino effect of this announcement will be, and how many companies will start cutting of jobs without having to justify that they are doing it for ROI purposes.