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| Report: Musk orders the dismissal of several Twitter employees |
The New York Times, citing four people familiar with the matter, said Elon Musk plans to begin laying off workers on Twitter starting Saturday, and some managers have asked for lists of employees to be laid off.
Citing three people who declined to be named for fear of infection, the newspaper said that Musk completed a $44 billion acquisition of Twitter on Thursday and ordered layoffs in all areas of the company, with some areas reducing the workforce by 50% and many more. It's unclear how many employees will be laid off, but Twitter currently has about 7,500 employees.
Reports of layoffs have swirled since Musk agreed to buy Twitter last April, and the billionaire, who also runs electric car maker Tesla and rocket company SpaceX, told investors he would turn Twitter private, licensing and refusing content control rules. Finding new ways to make money.
The layoffs are expected by November 1, when employees will receive stock bonuses as part of their paycheck. These grants typically make up a significant portion of the employee's salary. By firing employees on that date, Musk may have avoided paying those bonuses, but under the terms of the takeover, he would have to pay the employees in cash, not in stock.
After Musk took over Twitter last Thursday, he quickly fired the company's CEO, CFO, and a number of other executives. He also appealed to advertisers, who generate the bulk of Twitter's revenue, and promised that the platform would become a respected media destination.
While Musk may be in a hurry to downsize, he emphasized that he would be slower on other issues, for example while he had previously promised to bring back banned users, including former US President Donald Trump, he made clear on Friday that such changes would not happen on immediately, and instead announced that he plans to set up a commission to deal with found content and will not do so. Re-enable blocked users before being seen.