A new report is claiming Twitter will be hit with massive layoffs, should our spaceman son Elon Musk succeed in his buyout of the social media platform.
New documents and interviews (via WaPo) note that regardless of who owns Twitter in the coming months, massive layoffs are coming.
If Musk succeeds in his buyout, he reportedly told investors they would cut 75% of the company’s massive 7,500 staff, bringing their total staff to just around 2,000.
Current management at Twitter were already planning on big cuts regardless, with the goal of bringing their payroll down $800 million by the end of 2021 – meaning massive cuts of at least a fourth of their staff.
Internal documents purportedly confirm that Twitter is also planning on big cuts to infrastructure, which includes the closing of data centers.
It’s no secret that the social media company has struggled to be profitable – let alone paying absurd salaries for a board of directors that doesn’t really do anything.
Should Musk succeed in buying the company and they cut a large portion of their staff, any blowback on the cuts would seemingly fall on the new ownership, i.e. Musk himself, and not Twitter’s current management.
Twitter’s main lawyer Sean Edgett reportedly sent out an email to all employees that they had not received confirmation from Musk about his final plans. Twitter’s previous “cost savings discussions” were put on hold once the merger proposal as signed.
Twitter’s internal Slack channel is filled with anger and chaos, with staff trying to support each other emotionally in the face of likely being fired.
Lastly, the Musk buyout of Twitter is reportedly expected to close by October 28th – planning for the full closing is moving forward in “apparent good faith” despite months of legal battles and refusal from company staff to produce internal data that Musk had asked for.
A reminder that if the deal does go through, Musk will become the new sole owner, making the company a privately owned entity.
This is Niche Gamer Tech. In this column, we regularly cover tech and things related to the tech industry. Please leave feedback and let us know if there’s tech or a story you want us to cover!
