Elon Musk to start firing Twitter employees today, over 3,000 on the list
This year, we have heard of mass layoffs and hiring freezes at large companies across the world, thanks to the economic conditions. But none of the announcements have been as sensationalised as that of Twitter layoffs.
After much speculation, Twitter has finally announced a wave of layoffs. And of course, knowing the new owner of the social media company, Elon Musk, the announcement is just as bizarrely worded as it can be.
While there is no official word on how many employees are being laid off, reports had said around 3,500 to 3,700 could be let off.
First, let's take a look at what Twitter has announced:
The highlights of this letter:
Twitter offices are currently temporarily closed and reportedly only those working on critical projects are allowed to visit.
What else is known and unknown:
- Twitter hasn't specified how many employees will be laid off. Earlier estimates had put the numbers from 50% to 75%.
- The Verge reported that a team of Elon Musk's advisors had been brought in to determine which engineers and technical managers to keep.
- Reportedly, Twitter employees have been frustrated over the lack of internal communication and uncertainty over the issue.
- The layoffs also come at a time when the US is set to hold midterm elections soon. There are concerns that cutting down the staff, especially in content moderation, will turn the platform into a hate speech and misinformation "hellscape".
- Layoffs are part of Elon Musk's cost-saving plan for Twitter. Other than the layoffs, Musk has reportedly asked teams to save anywhere between $1.5 million to $3 million a day in expenses.
- Teams have been asked to find at least $1 billion in annual infrastructure savings. This may include investment in servers and cloud services.
- However, the deep cost-cutting plans may risk Twitter going down during crucial events.
[READ: 7 days, 7 Twitter earthquakes: CEO Elon Musk's first week in office]