Elon Musk to begin laying off employees at Twitter: Report
Days after taking over Twitter and firing its top executives including CEO Parag Agarwal, Elon Musk now plans to begin laying off employees working for the microblogging site.
The New York Times citing people with the knowledge of the situation, said some managers at the company have been asked to “draw up lists of employees to cut.”
Also read: Who are Parag Agrawal and Vijaya Gadde, of whom Musk ‘freed’ Twitter?
“Ahead of Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, reports were circulating that he will cut headcount, with some reports saying 75 per cent of the workforce at the company could be laid off. Musk, who completed a USD 44-billion deal to buy Twitter on Thursday, has ordered the cuts across the company, with some teams to be trimmed more than others,” the NYT report said, adding that the scale of the layoffs could not be determined at the company, which has around 7,500 employees.
The reports said the sacking may take place before November 1 and that employees who would be laid off will receive stock grants as part of their compensation. Such grants typically represent a significant portion of employees’ pay. By laying off workers before that date, Musk may avoid paying the grants.
Musk’s plans for Twitter
Musk has told investors that he would take Twitter private, reduce its work force, roll back its content moderation rules and find new revenue streams. “Fresh baked bread & pastries are some of the great joys of life. Finally, the truth that carbs are amazing can be said on this platform!” with the hashtags “so brave” and “free speech,” he tweeted on Saturday.
Musk has said the social media company will form a content moderation council and any major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen after such a body has convened. Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints.
“No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes,” Musk tweeted on Friday, a day after he completed the USD 44 billion-dollar acquisition of the social media company.
Also read: Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover: Govt expects platforms to comply with local rules
“To be super clear, we have not yet made any changes to Twitter’s content moderation policies,” he added.
CEO Parag Agrawal, legal executive Vijaya Gadde, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and General Counsel Sean Edgett were ousted as Musk’s acquisition was completed. Within hours of taking over the reins at Twitter, the Tesla CEO posted a series of tweets. “The bird is freed, Spoiler Alert. Let the good times roll, Living the Dream. Comedy is now legal on Twitter.”
Agrawal, 38, was appointed Twitter CEO in November last year after the social media site’s co-founder Jack Dorsey stepped down. As the Twitter account of former US President Donald Trump was permanently suspended in January last year, Hyderabad-born Gadde was at the forefront of this dramatic decision undertaken within days of the attempted insurrection by pro-Trump supporters at the US Capitol.
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone thanked Agrawal, Segal and Gadde for their “massive contribution” to the business. “Thank you to @paraga, @vijaya, and @nedsegal for the collective contribution to Twitter. Massive talents, all, and beautiful humans each!” Stone tweeted.
Also read: Elon Musk gets a dose of Twitter ‘mayhem’ soon after he takes over
Musk arrived at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco on Wednesday and had been meeting with engineers and advertising executives. He also updated his Twitter description to Chief Twit. The billionaire has promised to transform Twitter by loosening the services content moderation rules, making its algorithm more transparent and nurturing subscription businesses, as well as laying off employees.
(With inputs from agencies)
