Twitter to Lay Off 25% Of Workforce in First Round of Job Cuts

In its initial round of layoffs, Twitter intends to let go of 25% of its workers. The social networking platform currently employs about 7,000 people, with just under 2,000 people making up 25% of the workforce. After the $44 billion takeover was completed, Elon Musk sacked key executives of the social media giant.

According to the Washington Post, negotiations about the job reduction were overseen by celebrity attorney Alex Spiro, a longtime Musk legal representative. Musk raised the idea of cost reductions to banking partners when he was initially soliciting money for the transaction, and Twitter staff have been preparing for layoffs since the merger was disclosed in April. The previous reporting suggested that he’d planned to cut 75% of staff, although other reports later suggested that Musk assured Twitter staff last week that’s not the case.

Musk denied the report. In a response to a Twitter user asking about the layoffs, Musk tweeted: “This is false.”

This is false

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 30, 2022

The New York Times reported on Saturday that Musk had mandated layoffs before Nov. 1, when workers were supposed to receive stock awards as part of their remuneration. Musk also ordered employment cuts across the company, with some teams to be reduced more than others.

The company has arranged an employee meeting for Wednesday 2nd November, but some employees did not receive invitations. This is according to one of the persons familiar with the situation, as previously reported by Bloomberg.

The amount of job cutbacks couldn’t be estimated, but managers have been ordered to create lists of those who would be let go, according to the publication. According to the Times, who cited unnamed persons with knowledge of the situation, the cuts may start as soon as this Saturday.

Following the completion of a highly publicized $44 billion buyout of the social media platform on Thursday, Musk fired Twitter Chief Executive Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal, and Chief Legal Affairs and Policy Officer Vijaya Gadde. He had claimed that they had misled him and Twitter’s investors over the prevalence of fraudulent accounts on the site.