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Elon Musk Plans to Make Thousands of Jobs at Twitter Redundant

Industry: Internet Services; Social Media
Current: Company Performance

Several divisions of the company are expected to be affected by the layoffs announced by Musk on October 27, 2022, after he purchased the social networking site for $44 billion
According to Musk, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and three other senior employees who were fired for cause were not obligated to receive multimillion-dollar severance packages
Twitter’s pay program vests on November 1, and many workers are concerned that Musk will wind up positions before then

Twitter Inc. Plans Widespread Layoffs

Over the past few chaotic days, Twitter Inc. developed plans for massive layoffs, removed top executives while claiming there was good reason, worked to reassure users and advertisers about content control, and continued to welcome jokes and controversies on the service.

The projected layoffs by Musk, who on October 27, 2022, purchased the social networking site for $44 billion, are expected to affect not only technical positions but also other divisions of the company. Twitter employs some 7,500 people and the number of active jobs declined significantly in October 2022 over that in the previous months, according to GlobalData.

It is difficult to ascertain the scope of the cuts under discussion. Musk says that he is not compelled to give the multimillion-dollar severance settlements that had been expected to Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and three other senior employees who were fired for cause. Executives who left are evaluating options. The severance packages for Twitter’s top two executives totaled more than $100 million. Sriram Krishnan, a former venture financier and product head for Twitter, and attorney Alex Spiro have been working on Musk’s team since the acquisition.

As reported by the company, eight of Twitter’s last 10 fiscal years have recorded losses, and Musk’s acquisition of the company occurs as the social media sector experiences the most turbulent economic climate in history. Costs are one of the primary problems that Musk wants to address, according to those familiar with the situation. In June 2022, he told staff members that he thought Twitter’s expense situation was “not fantastic.” At the time, he said that everyone who contributes significantly should not be concerned but did not rule out layoffs.

Many workers expressed concern that Musk would decide to eliminate positions before November 1, which is the vesting deadline for Twitter’s pay program. Grants to employees were supposed to be paid out in cash following Musk’s takeover. Several workers expressed fear that if they were terminated prior to November 1, Musk would try to avoid making such payments.

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