Job losses were widely expected, despite the company relocating last month to reassure staff that there were no plans for mass layoffs following the $ 44 billion acquisition of Musk.
Elon Musk defended the sacking of half of Twitter's 8,000 workers, saying "sadly, there are no other options." Musk insisted that the platform's commitment to moderation remained "absolutely unchanged".
"Everyone who left was offered three months' compensation, which is 50% more than what is required by law."
Minutes before Musk's tweets, Twitter head of security and integrity Yoel Roth confirmed that the layoffs had affected 50% of the company, including about 15% of the trust and security department.
Frontline moderation staff suffered "minimal impact," he added. Musk retweeted it, describing it as an "excellent summary".
The words were meant to reassure worried users that Musk's acquisition and job loss would gut the moderation and security teams and make the platform illegal. This is particularly important ahead of the mid-term elections in the United States, as Twitter has been accused of being a factor in spreading disinformation and abuse.
Jessica Gonzalez, co-executive director of Free Press, said: "When it is reported that 50% of your staff are fired, including the teams tasked with tracking, monitoring and enforcing content moderation and rules, it necessarily means that content moderation has changed. " . "
Entire teams eliminated
Several employees tweeted that they lost their jobs, saying that Twitter had removed teams focusing on human rights and global conflicts, another team that checked for bias in algorithms in how tweets are amplified, and a team of engineers dedicated to making the platform more accessible to people with disabilities. The company moved to assure staff last month that there were no plans for mass layoffs after it was reported that Musk wanted to lay off 75% of the workforce following its $ 44 billion (38.4 billion) acquisition. billions of pounds).
But Musk fired several top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, and ousted the company's board of directors on his first day as an owner. Lawsuit brought by former employees
Employees were later told that they would find out their future on Friday, with some making early contact after losing access to their work accounts.
According to the Associated Press, four former employees filed at least one lawsuit alleging that Twitter violated federal law by failing to notify the dismissed employees of the necessary communication. Musk may also face discrimination claims if some groups are found to have been disproportionately affected, such as women, people of color or older workers.
'Great care' needed in 'layoffs of this magnitude'
Labor attorney Peter Rahbar told The Associated Press that most employers "are very careful when making layoffs of this magnitude" to make sure they are justified and do not unfairly discriminate or attract unwanted attention to the company. "For whatever reason, he apparently wants to fire half the company without doing any due diligence on what these people do or who they are and ignoring the law."
In the UK, Twitter is required by law to notify employees, according to Emma Bartlett, a company and labor law partner at CM Murray LLP.0
Failure to notify the government in the event of mass layoffs could "have associated criminal penalties," she said, adding that whether criminal penalties will ever be applied is another matter. Meanwhile, several companies have said they will suspend advertising spending on Twitter, including United Airlines, Audi, General Mills, and General Motors.