Even by Big Tech’s hardcore standards, the layoffs at Jack Dorsey’s Block are sweeping, but the financial service company has earned some praise for its severance package.
Dorsey said Block would provide laid-off employees with 20 weeks of salary, plus one additional week per year of tenure. They would also get six months of healthcare, a $5,000 stipend, and the option to keep their work device. Equity would vest through until the end of May, Dorsey said.
Brooks Holtom, a professor of management at Georgetown University, told Business Insider that the packages are “relatively generous.”
Others have praised Dorsey’s leadership for owning up to his decision.
From X’s massive layoff to Amazon’s repeated trims, here’s how Block’s layoff severance package compares to those offered by other tech companies.
Amazon
Amazon said in January that it would cut 16,000 corporate jobs, its second big layoff since October.
The tech giant said affected employees would receive full pay and benefits for 90 days plus an additional severance package, according to an internal FAQ viewed by Business Insider.
Employees were instructed to return company laptops in a shipping box provided.
Meta
People familiar with the matter told Business Insider that in 2025, during a layoff at Meta, the company’s severance package included 16 weeks of pay and an additional two weeks for every year of service, plus six months of health insurance coverage.
The package also included RSU vesting support and consultation for visa holders.
According to emails sent by Meta’s human resources at the time, laid-off employees would lose access to company systems within an hour of being informed.
Airbnb
Airbnb laid off around 25% of its workforce in 2020, equivalent to nearly 1,900 people.
Its severance package provided 14 weeks of base pay plus an additional week for each year they’ve been with the company.
The company also covered a year of health insurance for US employees through COBRA, which is a form of coverage provided by companies to former employees, as well as four months of mental health support. Employees not located in the US received shorter healthcare coverage timespan.
In CEO Brian Chesky’s email at the time, he cited a “global health crisis” and wanted to “limit the burden of healthcare costs.”
When Google laid off 12,000 workers in 2023, employees received a 16-week base severance package with an additional two weeks for every year of employment at Google.
According to the company’s layoff memo, departing employees were also given accelerated vesting of at least 16 weeks and received six months of healthcare coverage.
Based on a Google earnings call in early 2024, the company “recorded employee severance and related charges of $2.1 billion” in 2023.
Microsoft
During Microsoft’s 2023 layoff, Business Insider learned that affected employees would be given “above-market” severance pay, but Microsoft did not specify what that meant.
The package included six months of health care and stock vesting, and 60 days ‘ notice. At the time, Microsoft said it would take a $1.2 billion charge in the second quarter for severance packages and other restructuring-related costs.
X (Twitter)
After Elon Musk purchased what was then Twitter, he culled nearly half of its global workforce in November 2022 with an unsigned memo. Little was mentioned publicly about the benefits laid-off employees received, except for about three months’ salary.
At the time, some employees told Business Insider that they lost access to their laptops before receiving notice of their termination, and several employees sued Twitter, saying they weren’t given enough notice before being terminated.
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