It was by a simple internal e-mail that Twitter announced, Thursday, November 3, the imminence of layoffs within the company, a fear shared by employees since the recent takeover of the social network by billionaire Elon Musk.
“We will begin the difficult process of reducing our global workforce on Friday”were thus warned the employees in this message consulted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The email adds that all employees will receive information by Friday morning when offices open in California, but does not specify how many people will be affected. According to washington postthe new leader planned to fire about 50% of the approximately 7,500 employees.
“We recognize that a number of individuals who have made notable contributions to Twitter are going to be affected, but this action is unfortunately necessary to ensure the company’s success in the future”declares the company to the employees.
“If you are not affected, you will receive a notification on your Twitter email address. If you are affected you will receive a notification with the next steps on your personal email »informs the message sent Thursday, reminding everyone to check their mailbox “including your spam”.
“A farce and a disgrace”
The boss of Tesla and SpaceX bought Twitter for 44 billion dollars and took control last Thursday, after six months of a very eventful acquisition. He immediately dissolved the board, fired the chief executive and other senior officials, and launched large-scale projects with objectives to be met quickly. Several engineers reported having to sleep on site some nights.
Elon Musk, who first renamed himself “Chief Twitter” (“twit” meaning ” dumbass “ in English), then “Twitter hotline operator”brought in Tesla developers on Friday to review the work of Twitter employees.
Many engineers had to print out the last lines of code they produced, according to an employee who spoke on condition of anonymity. Lists comparing computer scientists with each other, mainly on the basis of production volume, have also been established, according to another employee.
“The ongoing dismissal process is a farce and a disgrace. Tesla henchmen make decisions about people they know nothing about except the number of lines of code produced. It’s completely absurd.”Tweeted on Sunday, Taylor Leese, the director of an engineering team who said he was fired.
Culture change
On Thursday, more and more employees of the tweeting network were expressing their dismay or making humor. “The mass layoffs haven’t happened yet and yet everyone on Twitter has already lost their jobs. The work that was described in their contract, the work they loved, the work with all the colleagues they came to know and appreciate”, said Eli Schutzea London-based Twitter IT specialist, according to her profile. “It’s the start of a blank slate whichever side you fall on”she added.
The measure confirms the shift in corporate culture widely anticipated for the Californian company under the leadership of Elon Musk. Several executives resigned on their own this week and more than 700 people have already left this summer, of their own free will, according to an employee.
The whimsical entrepreneur indeed advocates a vision of freedom of expression which requires relaxing the moderation rules for the platform’s content, in disagreement with the approach of many employees, users and NGOs.
Some employees were also worried about the idea of no longer being able to work from home – Elon Musk disapproves of teleworking – or having to follow hellish speeds like at Tesla.
The leader also announced the upcoming launch of an eight-dollar-a-month subscription for users wishing to have their account certified. A decision that caused an outcry among many subscribers concerned.