Elon Musk is Reportedly Planning to Eliminate Half of Twitter’s Workforce to Slash Costs

In an effort to reduce costs after his $44 billion acquisition, Elon Musk plans to cut nearly 3,700 workers at  Twitter, or half of the social media company’s employment, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

According to the people, who asked for anonymity to discuss private arrangements, Twitter’s new owner intends to inform impacted employees on Friday. The remaining staff will be asked to report to the company’s offices, and Musk also plans to reverse the company’s current work-from-anywhere policy, though some exceptions may be granted, according to the sources.

The people added that the specifics of the workforce reduction might yet alter as Musk and a group of advisers considered several options for job cutbacks and other policy changes at San Francisco-based Twitter.

According to two of the persons, in one scenario, laid-off employees would receive 60 days’ worth of severance money.

One of the final pre-Musk C-suite employees to leave the firm after the layoffs were resolved was Twitter Chief Accounting Officer Robert Kaiden, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by a Twitter spokeswoman.

Musk is under pressure to reduce the expenditures of a company that he claims he overpaid. In April, just as markets were falling, the billionaire agreed to pay $54.20 per share. Then, for months, he made an effort to back out of the deal by claiming that the corporation had deceived him about the incidence of fraudulent accounts.

Twitter filed a lawsuit to compel Musk to fulfill his promise, and in recent weeks, Musk capitulated and decided to close the purchase under the predetermined terms. The buyout agreement was finalized on Thursday.

Since Musk took over and fired a large portion of the top management team, including CEO Parag Agrawal, finance director Ned Segal, and senior legal staffers Vijaya Gadde and Sean Edgett, Twitter employees have been preparing for layoffs. Other departures in the days that followed included vice president of global client solutions Jean-Philippe Maheu, chief customer officer Sarah Personette, and chief marketing officer Leslie Berland.

Musk dubbed himself “Chief Twit” in his social media bio. Bloomberg had reported that he would assume the position of acting CEO. He also appointed himself the sole director of the corporation and disbanded the board, later claiming that it was “only temporary.”

Several personnel with director and vice president positions were let go over the weekend, according to persons with knowledge of the situation. The persons claimed that other leaders were requested to compile lists of team members who might be let go.

A person with knowledge of the situation claimed last week that senior members of the product teams were instructed to aim for a 50% decrease in manpower. The names were examined by engineers and directors at Tesla Inc., the automaker also led by Musk, the source claimed. According to the sources, layoff lists were created and ranked based on employees’ contributions to Twitter’s code while they were employed by the firm. Both Tesla employees and Twitter supervisors provided their opinions.

Prior to Musk’s buyout, concerns concerning significant staff reductions first surfaced when prospective investors were informed that he would slash 75% of the employees, which was estimated to number 7,500 as of the end of 2021. Later, Musk disputed that the cuts would be that severe.

Musk has recently begun to make suggestions about his hiring objectives, stating that he wants to concentrate on the main product. Early in October, he tweeted, “Software engineering, server operations & design will rule the roost.”

Musk is also attempting to increase his revenue. Soon, the business will begin charging for verification.

According to those familiar with the plans, the badges would be a part of a $8 per month membership that may launch as soon as Monday. According to one of the persons, who asked to remain anonymous because they were discussing private plans, users who already have a blue verification badge will have a number of months of grace before they are forced to pay for the badge or risk losing it.