Elon Musk to Fire Half of Twitter Employees

Layoffs are said to be an effort to cut costs.

QUICK FACTS:
  • New Twitter owner Elon Musk plans to eliminate over 3,500 jobs at his new company, likely cutting the workforce in half.
  • Musk’s aggressive move is said to be part of his attempt to cut down on costs after purchasing the social media platform for $44 billion.
  • Those losing their positions will be informed on Friday, according to anonymous sources who spoke to the media.
  • Musk will also do away with the company’s work-from-anywhere policy asking his employees to report to their offices.
LAYOFFS FOLLOW EXECUTIVE FIRINGS:
  • Musk and his team are contemplating a number of options to cut jobs, along with policy changes, saying that there is no firm decision on just how many people will be cut.
  • One possibility includes laid-off workers being offered two months’ worth of severance pay, but Twitter employees are still bracing for details of the layoffs to be released.
  • Several of the company’s top executives have already been removed by the company’s new owner, including Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal, finance chief Ned Segal, and senior legal staffers Vijaya Gadde and Sean Edgett.
  • Other former senior staffers to leave the company include Chief Marketing Officer Leslie Berland, Chief Customer Officer Sarah Personette, and Jean-Philippe Maheu, who was vice president of global client solutions.
BACKGROUND:
  • Musk began his bid to buy Twitter in April of this year, but the deal was fraught with legal troubles from the start, leading up to his October takeover of the company.
  • Previous reports indicated that Musk might eliminate around 75% of the company’s staff: “A 75% headcount cut would indicate, at least out of the gates, stronger cash flow and profitability, which would be attractive to investors looking to get in on the deal,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said.
  • Since buying the platform Musk has pulled the plug on Twitter censors, moving to prevent viewpoint discrimination, which took place largely through their Trust and Safety department.

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