BlockBeats News, March 19th: Payment platform Square’s parent company, Block, which owns Cash App, recently quietly rehired some of the employees who were laid off at the end of February. The initial round of layoffs involved about 4,000 people and was part of the company’s strategy to transition to artificial intelligence.
Several employees revealed on LinkedIn that they were returning to the company. Design engineer Andrew Harvard stated on March 3rd that he was informed that the layoff was due to a “paperwork error” and has accepted the company’s offer to return.
Chief Technology Officer Richard Hesse said that he spent two days persuading management that his team’s work was “critical to customers” and required an adequate workforce. The company eventually agreed to rehire some of the laid-off employees. Creative Strategy Lead Chane Rennie also disclosed on March 12th that he was asked to return to work about a week after the layoffs.
