Elon Musk’s plan to put a few thousand Twitter employees out of work is proceeding at a brutal pace. Platformer’s Casey Newton reports that workers received an email on Thursday evening informing them that they’ll know if they still have a job by 9 a.m. PST on Friday. That information will also be conveyed by email, in a move almost as heartless as the layoffs themselves.
Twitter employees still able to call themselves Twitter employees by this weekend will be informed of their stay of execution in a message to their work email address. Their colleagues being sent to join the unemployment line will get the news in their personal email accounts, according to NBC News reporter Ben Collins. The emails are expected to begin arriving on Friday morning.
In the meantime, Twitter’s offices have been closed and everyone told to go home and await their fate.
“We recognize that this will impact a number of individuals who have made valuable contributions to Twitter, but this action is unfortunately necessary to ensure the company’s success moving forward,” the email reportedly read.
“Thank you for continuing to adhere to Twitter policies that prohibit you from discussing confidential company information on social media, with the press or elsewhere. We are grateful for your contributions to Twitter and your patience as we move through this process.”
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Newton reports that Twitter employees are posting the saluting emoji in the company’s Slack — a stoic farewell and gesture of respect to their colleagues as the ship goes down. They’re also sharing Thanos memes, likening Musk’s massive staff cuts to the Marvel supervillain’s plan to kill half of the universe’s population.
Though the email was unsigned, it’s no secret who was ultimately behind it. Musk has been vocal about wanting to lay off a huge swathe of Twitter’s workforce as soon as possible, having literally started firing people the day his takeover was finalised. Reports have varied regarding exactly how many of Twitter’s 7,500 employees will lose their jobs at Musk’s whim, however it’s been speculated the number could reach as high as 75 percent.
Musk has been frantically trying to squeeze more money out of Twitter after initially attempting to back out of the $44 billion acquisition deal. These enormous staff cuts appear integral to his efforts, along with a deluge of wildly unpopular changes to the platform.
These layoffs are awful and are likely to negatively impact Twitter’s quality, but hopefully some employees will find it a blessing in disguise. Collins reports that a few are hoping to be laid off so they can get severance, with the culture at Twitter having become “beyond toxic.”
Between Musk’s unreasonable deadlines making overworked employees sleep in the office and the threat of unemployment constantly looming over everyone’s heads, it’s no wonder people are looking for the doors.
Mashable has contacted Twitter for comment.
UPDATE: Nov. 4, 2022, 4:36 p.m. AEDT It seems Musk isn’t wasting any time. Employees are already being locked out of Twitter’s network, which they believe indicates they’ve been laid off.
