{"id":507150,"date":"2026-03-01T10:15:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T10:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/507150\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T10:15:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T10:15:20","slug":"could-blocks-ai-fueled-layoffs-be-a-tipping-point-for-white-collar-jobs-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/507150\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Block\u2019s AI-fueled layoffs be a \u2018tipping point\u2019 for white-collar jobs? – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week\u2019s announcement by Jack Dorsey that his financial tech company Block would lay off 40 per cent of its staff<\/a> due to artificial intelligence<\/a> saw the firm\u2019s stock price skyrocket \u2014 an event that could signal a \u201ctipping point\u201d in the labour market, experts say.<\/p>\n

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While companies like Amazon have been steadily \u2014 but quietly \u2014 replacing workers with AI systems for several months now, Dorsey\u2019s statement made the connection between the two explicit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIntelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company,\u201d the CEO said in a letter to investors while announcing Block\u2019s latest profit results. \u201cWe\u2019re already seeing it internally. A significantly smaller team, using the tools we\u2019re building, can do more and do it better.\u201d<\/p>\n

The co-founder of Twitter also said, \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re early to this realization. I think most companies are late. Within the next year, I believe the majority of companies will reach the same conclusion and make similar structural changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Moshe Lander, an economics professor at Concordia University, said Dorsey\u2019s statement is an acknowledgment that we\u2019re now at the latest stage of a trajectory that began decades ago, with automation in manufacturing and service industries.<\/p>\n

That trend-line is now due to accelerate rapidly as AI makes a similar impact in white-collar jobs, he said in an interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cThink of it as hockey stick,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you work your way up the shaft, it\u2019s kind of that slow progression until you get to that connection point between the blade and the shaft \u2014 and then it takes off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lander added that the resulting stock price jump for Block shows investors are recognizing the profitability potential of that approach.<\/p>\n

\u201c(If I\u2019m an employer) I don\u2019t have to deal with all of that economic cost that comes with humans when AI is going to deliver me the same, if not greater, value at only the cost of installation,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSo it\u2019s very understandable then why replacing labour with capital or technology is helpful to a business\u2019s bottom line.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That view appears to have extended throughout Wall Street. While Block\u2019s share price rose Friday, it fell for software companies and others whose businesses investors suspect could get supplanted by AI-powered competitors, dragging market indexes downward.<\/p>\n

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Economic researchers like Goldman Sachs<\/a> and JP Morgan<\/a> have been warning that AI-fueled layoffs could accelerate in the U.S. this year as more companies adopt the technology at the expense of human labour.<\/p>\n

So far, it appears the trend has not yet moved north to Canada.<\/p>\n

A TD Economics analysis last month<\/a> found Canadian employment in industries aggressively adopting AI at the expense of workers has been more resilient than in the U.S.<\/p>\n

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Those industries \u2014 including finance, real estate and health care, among others \u2014 saw worse employment outcomes in the U.S. compared to sectors that lagged in AI adoption, the analysis found, while Canada has seen relatively little difference across all industries studied.<\/p>\n

\u201cU.S. employment has seen virtually no growth, led by information and professional services, versus Canada showing fewer signs of job displacement,\u201d TD\u2019s chief economist Beata Caranci wrote.<\/p>\n

Both countries saw higher employment rates in industries like engineering, education, nursing and law, where AI is treated as more of a complementary tool for humans that still need to exercise human judgement.<\/p>\n

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Georgios Petropoulos, an assistant professor in data sciences at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, said the changes fuelled by AI should allow for more startups and innovation that can absorb the laid-off workers of today.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf we look at the economy as a whole, we see that that also generates opportunities for more ideas, more companies to enter and use the technology together with labour to perform well in the market and get some profits,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is up to people that had this bad experience (of losing their job) to be able to be more relevant and find the next working route for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

That will require retraining opportunities from governments and private industry, Petropoulos and Lander agreed, as well as for educators to prepare students for the economy of the future.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u2018White collar bloodbath\u2019: Will AI destroy the entry-level office job?\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney has sought to fast-track AI adoption across Canadian industry and government in a bid to boost productivity and economic growth.<\/p>\n

AI Minister Evan Solomon has promised to unveil a long-delayed federal AI strategy by this spring that will outline the new Liberal government\u2019s approach. He has said the strategy will balance growing out the domestic sector with a \u201chuman-based\u201d approach.<\/p>\n

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In September, in response to economic pressures from U.S. tariffs, Carney announced a $50-million investment over five years<\/a> to help workers find jobs and retrain in digital skills such as AI. Long-tenured workers will also get extended EI benefits as they seek to retrain for new careers under the plan.<\/p>\n

Lander said governments like Carney\u2019s need to be more frank with its constituents about the changes coming to the labour market thanks to AI, including industries where humans may be mostly replaced in the next five to 10 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bad analogy and I admit it: if you know somebody is dying, you can either try and pump them full of drugs and delay the inevitable, or you can try and help make that their last days are comfort,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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