Block Lays Off 4,000 Employees as Cash App Parent's Stock Surges 25%

Block, the parent company of Cash App and Square, announced it will lay off more than 4,000 employees — nearly half its workforce — in a move that sent the company's stock surging 25% in after-hours trading. The paradox of mass job cuts being celebrated by Wall Street highlights the growing tension between shareholder value and worker welfare in the tech sector, and raises questions about whether the market's enthusiasm for efficiency has become disconnected from the human cost of corporate restructuring.