Twitter laid off 50% of its employees on Friday. The social media company alerted employees of their job status by email after barring the entrances to offices and cutting off workers’ access to internal systems overnight. Staff who worked in engineering, communications, product, content curation, and machine learning ethics were among those impacted by the layoffs, according to tweets from Twitter staff.
The move follows an uncertainty about the company’s future under new owner Elon Musk, who tweeted that the service was experiencing a “massive drop in revenue” as advertisers pulled spending. Musk has sought to slash costs and impose a demanding new work ethic. Livemint is closely following the events as they unfold. Stay tuned for live updates
Ahead of US midterm election, Twitter’s hostile layoff could be a misinformation disaster
Experts have warned that the mass layoffs at Twitter Inc could spell disaster during the US midterm elections next week. The Guardian citing Paul Barrett, an expert in disinformation and fake news at New York University said the lack of staff will create ideal conditions for election misinformation to thrive.
An internal source at the company told Reuters that the infrastructure cuts were “delusional”, adding that when user traffic surges, the service can fail “in spectacular ways”.
As per the Guardian’s report it is too soon to measure concrete impacts of Twitter’s restructuring, early tracking shows hate speech is increasing. Researchers from Montclair State University claimed found in the 12 hours immediately after Musk took ownership on Twitter, “vulgar and hostile” rhetoric saw an “immediate, visible and measurable spike”, the news report added.
Elon Musk threatens to name shame advertisers who are backing out from Twitter
Elon Musk threatened to name-shame the advertisers who are backing out from Twitter after the micro-blogging site announced mass layoffs.
While replying to a user on Twitter, Elon Musk said, “Thank you. A thermonuclear name & shame is exactly what will happen if this continues.”
Mike Davis, a user on Twitter said, “Dear @elonmusk: You have nearly 114,000,000 Twitter followers. Name and shame the advertisers who are succumbing to the advertiser boycotts. So we can counter-boycott them. And get your USD 8 monthly subscription going asap. So we can start to makeup for lost revenue now.”
Elon Musk bought platform that ‘spews lies’ : Joe Biden
President Joe Biden criticised Elon Musk’s acquisiton of Twitter Inc., saying the social media platform was responsible for spewing lies.
“Now what are we all worried about? Elon Musk goes out and buys an outfit that sends and spews lies all across the world,” Biden said.
“There’s no editors anymore,” Biden added. “There’s no editors. How do we expect kids to be able to understand what is at stake?”
What changes has Elon Musk made at Twitter and what would be his next steps?
Elon Musk’s approach to managing Twitter has been an unpredictable one. The world’s richest man has axed staff and floated a payment idea of $8 per month to retain blue tick. Musk has promised there will be no changes to content policies, or reinstatements of banned accounts such as Donald Trump’s, until a newly announced content moderation council is convened.
The tech giant has also floated the idea of splitting Twitter into different strands of content. He suggested that users select which version of Twitter they want, in the style of choosing a film based on its content rating.
Twitter Inc considering charging for video content. This would involved letting people post videos and charging users to see them, with Twitter taking a cut, according to a report by The Verge.
List of big brands that have suspended ad spending on Twitter
Several big brands have halted paid advertising on Twitter, days after the social media platform was acquired by billionaire Elon Musk for $44 billion.
The companies that have paused ad spending on Twitter are United Airlines, General Mills, General Motors, Volkswagen AG, Pfizer Inc, etc.
The growing exodus of advertisers comes amid concerns Musk will scale back misinformation and security protections on the platform.
Shortly before taking over the social media company last week, Musk issued a vow to advertisers that he would not allow Twitter to become a “free-for-all hellscape,”– an indication there would still be consequences for violators of its rules against harassment, violence, or election and Covid-related misinformation.
About 90% of Twitter’s revenue comes from advertisers but it’s far from the biggest platform that advertisers turn to for digital marketing. Google, Amazon, and Meta account for about 75% of digital ads, according to The Guardian.
Elon Musk blames activists for ‘massive’ drop in Twitter’s ad revenue
Elon Musk blamed the losses on a coalition of civil rights groups that has been pressing Twitter’s top advertisers to take action if he did not protect content moderation.
Musk tweeted that his team had made no changes to content moderation and done “everything we could” to appease the groups. “Extremely messed up! They’re (civil right groups) trying to destroy free speech in America.”
Elon Musk defends Twitter layoffs, says, ‘There is no choice…’
After the massive layoff at Twitter Inc, Musk defended his move. In a tweet, he wrote, “unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day”.
Those who exited were offered three months of severance, “which is 50% more than legally required”, he added.
Twitter sacks half of staff as Elon Musk launches overhaul
Twitter sacked half of its 7,500-strong staff on Friday as the new owner Elon Musk launched his major overhaul of the troubled company.
As per the media reports, “roughly 50 percent” of employees were impacted and would be denied access to company computers and email on an immediate basis.
Roughly 50% workforce hit by layoffs: Internal document
According to AFP, an internal document states that roughly 50% of Twitter’s employees are hit by layoffs.
Twitter sued for laying off employees without enough notice
According to Bloomberg, the lawyer who sued Twitter Inc. “pre-emptively” on the eve of mass layoffs by Elon Musk said she’s “pleased” to learn at least some employees will continue being paid until 4 January.
Employees have been told they will receive a severance agreement next week in which Twitter will ask them to waive any potential claims against it, she said.
‘Twitter has room for improvement’: Elon Musk
Elon Musk on Thursday had said, ‘Twitter can be thought of as a collective, cybernetic super-intelligence with room for improvement’ hinting at the massive layoff that would take place on Friday across the Twitter offices worldwide.
‘We did everything we could…’ Musk defends layoffs
Twitter Inc. began notifying employees affected by a far-reaching round of job cuts, and some learned they’ll be paid for two months. As this was happening, the new owner, Elon Musk, said the business experienced a “massive drop” in revenue as many advertisers withdrew.
Amid the overhaul, Elon Musk took to Twitter to defend the layoffs. He wrote, “Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists.
Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America.”
Engineering, communications loose most Tweeps
According to tweets by the sacked Twitter employees, staff who worked in engineering, communications, product and content curation were among those impacted by the layoffs.
According to reports, Musk is looking to cut around 3,700 Twitter staff, or about half the workforce, as he seeks to slash costs and impose a demanding new work ethic
‘Slot machine-style layoffs’
Twitter users have taken to the micro-blogging platform in numbers saying that the mass layoffs of Twitter employees is a Slot machine-style layoffs that saw a massive chunk of employees from the India office being laid off, along with ither payoffs in the global offices.
‘Hostile takeover?’ asks netizens on Twitter layoffs
Apart from the sacked tweeps, Netizens have taken to Twitter to ask if the mass layoff, that can potentially reduce Twitter’s global workforce to half, is a hostile takeover by Tesla CEO Elon Musk since after a week of his takeover.
Twitter’s memo to tweeps acknowledges i’ncredibly challenging experience’
Bloomberg shared the memo that was shared with Twitter employees ahead of the massive layoff. Read the memo here
Team,
In an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path, we will go through the difficult process of reducing our global workforce on Friday. We recognize that this will impact a number of individuals who have made valuable contributions to Twitter, but this action is unfortunately necessary to ensure the company’s success moving forward.
Given the nature of our distributed workforce and our desire to inform impacted individuals as quickly as possible, communications for this process will take place via email. By 9AM PST on Friday Nov. 4th, everyone will receive an individual email with the subject line: Your Role at Twitter. Please check your email, including your spam folder.
If your employment is not impacted, you will receive a notification via your Twitter email.
If your employment is impacted, you will receive a notification with next steps via your personal email.
If you do not receive an email from twitter-hr@ by 5PM PST on Friday Nov. 4th, please email peoplequestions@twitter.com.
To help ensure the safety of each employee as well as Twitter systems and customer data, our offices will be temporarily closed and all badge access will be suspended. If you are in an office or on your way to an office, please return home.
We acknowledge this is an incredibly challenging experience to go through, whether or not you are impacted. Thank you for continuing to adhere to Twitter policies that prohibit you from discussing confidential company information on social media, with the press or elsewhere.
We are grateful for your contributions to Twitter and for your patience as we move through this process.
Thank you.
Twitter’s revenue generation under question post Musk’s takeover
Big companies including General Motors, General Mills and Audi have all paused ads on Twitter due to questions about how it will operate under Musk. Volkswagen Group said Friday it is recommending its brands, which include Skoda, Seat, Cupra, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Porsche and Ducati, pause paid activities until Twitter issues revised brand safety guidelines.
Musk has tried to appease advertisers, but they remain concerned about whether content moderation will remain as stringent and whether staying on Twitter might tarnish their brands.
Legal trouble for Musk’s Twitter overhaul
As of Friday, Musk and Twitter had given no public notice of the coming layoffs, according to a spokesperson for California’s Employment Development Department. That’s even though the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification statute requires employers with at least 100 workers to disclose layoffs involving 500 or more employees, regardless of whether a company is publicly traded or privately held.
‘Mr. Musk, the storm is coming’: Class action lawsuit filed
A class action lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in San Francisco on behalf of one employee who was laid off and three others who were locked out of their work accounts. It alleges that Twitter intends to lay off more employees and has violated the law by not providing the required notice.
A CA employment attorney have pointed out that the laid off employees were entitled to ‘60 days notice under federal and state WARN Acts.’
‘Return home’ : Twitter mail to Tweeps
The company said that in order to “ensure the safety” of employees and company data, the main offices would remain closed and all badge access suspended.
“Those on the way to the office should turn around and return home,” the email added.
The layoffs come at a tough time for social media companies, as advertisers are scaling back and newcomers — mainly TikTok — are threatening the older class of social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
‘Chief Twit’ Elon Musk had dissolved Twitter board
Tesla CEO Elon Musk who closed the USD 44 billion twitter acquisition deal last week and took control of the micro-blogging platform dissolved the board on Monday and was named the sole director of Twitter, the social media platform said in a securities filing on Monday
‘Necessary to ensure the company’s success’ reads layoff mail
Some employees tweeted early Friday that they had already lost access to their work accounts. They and others tweeted messages of support using the hashtag #OneTeam. The email to staff said job reductions were “necessary to ensure the company’s success moving forward.”
Twitter’s roughly 7,500 employees have been expecting layoffs since Musk took the helm of the company. Already, the billionaire Tesla CEO has fired top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, on his first day as Twitter’s owner.
Majority of employees in Twitter India laid off
Twitter has fired the majority of its over 200 employees in India as part of mass layoffs across the globe ordered by its new owner Elon Musk who is looking to make his USD 44 billion acquisition work.
Sources said the layoffs are across engineering, sales and marketing, and communications teams.
However, there is no clarity yet on the severance package to be paid to employees laid off in India.
The entire marketing and communications department in India has been sacked, the sources said.
‘Tweeps’ take to Twitter after layoff
“I don’t tweet about my day job much but it’s hard to believe that after 5 years my time at Twitter has come to an end. Here’s hoping all my fellow tweeps can land somewhere that treats them the way they deserve.” wrote Rebekah Machemer, a storyboard artist, whose Twitter bio now reads “available for work”
‘Just got cut off from laptop access’
Sacked Twitter employee Rachel Bonn who worked in the product marketing department mentions that she got cut off from laptop access. The mother of a nine month old and another baby on the way further said, “Last Thursday in the SF office, really the last day Twitter was Twitter”
Met most amazing people: Former employee
Time in Twitter was impactful: Former employee
Tweeps are most amazing people: Former employee
#LoveWhereYouWorked starts trending
‘It’s insane’ Twitter HR associate posts on layoffs
Twitter human resource associate Lindsay Kander posted a tweet where she was seen sobbing profusely about the Twitter layoffs. She later deleted the tweet. “It’s insane” Kander posted on her Twitter account.
Twitter’s marketing and communications department fired in India
Twitter has sacked the whole marketing and communications department in India as the laying off began in the country, according to a report which quoted sources.
Laid off employee shares their stories
“After 7+ years my Twitter chapter has come to an end. Twitter was so much more than a job, it felt like home, where coworkers became lifelong friends. The love and solidarity tonight is a true testament of the culture Tweeps have built over the years. It’s been an honor”, writes Smita Mittal Gupta- ex-Product Lead @TwitterBlue.
“And just like that, I’m out ????. Thank you for everything, @Twitter. I’ll miss you”, writes London Lee who was a former social impact at Twitter.
“Yesterday was my last day of work at Twitter. I am grateful that I got the opportunity to work with such amazing folks around. To all my fellow Tweeps – I wish you the best, You got this! Please feel free to dm me if you need any help or just an ear for listening”, writes Manvi Tyagi, ex-SWE at Twitter.
Twitter India starts laying off staff
As per new agency PTI, Twitter has started laying off its staff in India. The job cuts, as per the report, have affected a ‘significant chunk’ of the India team. “Lay-off has started. Some of my colleagues have received email notification regarding this,” a Twitter India employee told PTI on condition of anonymity.
Twitter offices temporarily closed, employees to be informed via emails
Twitter has temporarily closed its offices on Friday after telling employees they will be informed by email later in the day whether they are being laid off.
The move follows a week of uncertainty about the company’s future under new owner Elon Musk. The social media company said in an email to staff it would tell them by 9 a.m. Pacific time on Friday (12 p.m. EDT/1600 GMT) about staff cuts.
“In an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path, we will go through the difficult process of reducing our global workforce on Friday,” said the email sent on Thursday, seen by Reuters.
Musk expected to layoff 3,700 Twitter employees: Report
According to Bloomberg Musk plans to offload 3,700 Twitter employees. The numbers are concerning as it constitutes half of Twitter’s working force. He has already removed the company’s board of directors and installed himself as the sole board member. On Thursday night, many Twitter employees took to Twitter to express support for each other — often simply tweeting blue heart emojis to signify Twitter’s blue bird logo — and salute emojis in replies to each other.
Laid off Twitter employees sue Elon Musk
A class-action lawsuit has been reportedly filed against Twitter on Thursday on behalf of workers claiming the company’s layoffs violate a federal law requiring 60 days notice for employees.
A week after Elon Musk finalized his $44 billion purchase of the Silicon Valley-based social media platform, a letter went out to employees saying about half of the company’s 7,500-person workforce will be losing their jobs starting Friday.
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires large companies to notify workers two months in advance of planned job cuts, according to Bloomberg.
25-year old Indian man’s post is winning internet after getting fired from Twitter
“Just got laid off. Bird App, it was an absolute honour, the greatest privilege ever to be a part of this team, this culture”, writes Yash Agarwal – a Public Policy Associate for Twitter India and South Asia who got fired today
The email tells Twitter employees that offices will be closed temporarily
It says: To help ensure the safety of each employee as well as Twitter systems and customer data, our offices will be temporarily closed and all badge access will be suspended. If you are in an office or on your way to an office, please return home.
Employees will receive different emails, depending on their status with the company
If your employment is not impacted, you will receive a notification via your Twitter email.
If your employment is impacted, you will receive a notification with next steps via your personal email.
If you do not receive an email from twitter-hr@ by 5PM PST on Friday Nov. 4th, please email xxxxxxxx.
Twitter employees to receive email by 9am PST (9:30PM IST)
“By 9AM PST on Friday Nov. 4th, everyone will receive an individual email with the subject line: Your Role at Twitter. Please check your email, including your spam folder”, the memo reads.
Internal memo on job cuts leak
Memo begins stating: In an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path, we will go through the difficult process of reducing our global workforce on Friday. We recognize that this will impact a number of individuals who have made valuable contributions to Twitter, but this action is unfortunately necessary to ensure the company’s success moving forward.
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