To cut costs after purchasing the influential social network, tech tycoon Elon Musk will begin laying off employees at Twitter on Friday, according to an email addressed to all employees on Thursday night.
According to The New York Times and The Washington Post, an anonymous email stated, “In an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path, we will go through the arduous process of downsizing our global employee force.” We know this will have an impact on many people who have made significant contributions to Twitter, but we must take this step to guarantee the long-term viability of the company.
By 9 a.m. PT on Friday, all Twitter workers will get an email with the subject “Your Role at Twitter,” according to the message.
There are now around 7,500 people employed by Twitter, although just how many will be let go is unclear at this time. The company’s platform has 238 million daily users who are exposed to advertisements.
According to a story from Bloomberg this week, Musk was planning to eliminate 3,700 workers at Twitter, or roughly half of the company’s employment. Earlier in October, the Washington Post reported on Musk’s plans to reduce staff, citing internal papers and interviews.
Several executives were let off after Musk finalized a deal to acquire Twitter for $44 billion. Musk, who is very active on the social media platform, has stated that he intends to unleash the company’s full potential. Nonetheless, he is also one of Twitter’s harshest critics, having accused the firm of “failing to adhere to free speech norms” and having been misled by Twitter about the prevalence of spam or phony accounts.
Twitter filed a lawsuit against Musk to make him stick to the terms of the agreement after he attempted to back out of the pact.
Employees of Twitter reportedly expressed concern about the firm’s ability to serve the public conversation in a letter sent to the board of directors, Musk, and other company officials in October, as reported by Time.
“A threat of this size is foolish, undermines our users’ and customers’ trust in our platform, and is a transparent act of worker intimidation,” the anonymous employees wrote in the letter. The Post stated at the time that Musk intended to lay off 75% of Twitter’s staff, but the billionaire allegedly disputed this to employees in a meeting.
Musk has proposed various changes to Twitter since becoming CEO, including the establishment of a council to oversee the platform’s moderation of offensive posts. Ideas that don’t revolve around advertisements are also welcome. In order to acquire the verified blue check mark and other benefits, Twitter users would have to pay $8 per month for a subscription plan. Musk has also given indications that he intends to bring back Vine, the short-form video tool that Twitter discontinued in 2017.
