The mass layoffs Twitter employees have been bracing for since Elon Musk began his takeover may be on the horizon. According to Bloomberg, the website’s new owner and “Chief Twit” is planning to cull 3,700 employees from the company’s workforce, which would cut its number of staff members in half, in an effort to cut costs. Musk and a team of advisers are still reportedly in the midst of finalizing the terms for the layoffs, but one option they’re considering is offering the people they let go 60 days’ of severance pay. The executive could break the news to affected staffers as soon as Friday.
Those who get to keep their jobs may have to get used to working from the office again. Bloomberg says Musk is also planning to end Twitter’s work-from-anywhere policy and asking employees to report to offices, barring some exceptions. The publication previously reported that Twitter employees had been worried about the changes Musk could bring when it comes to this particular policy before he even took over. It’s no secret that the executive isn’t a fan of work-from-home arrangements and had previously given Tesla and SpaceX employees an ultimatum, demanding that they spend 40 hours in the office or leave the company.
Before Musk’s takeover of the social network started, reports came out that he was going to axe 75 percent of the company’s staff members. He reportedly denied those numbers when he visited Twitter’s San Francisco HQ, but it was pretty clear that layoffs were still in the cards. After the deal to purchase Twitter was sealed, Musk’s first move was to fire former CEO Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and other top execs.
More director and VP jobs were let go over the weekend, while some remaining Twitter employees in leadership roles were asked to write up lists of staff members that can be cut. Those layoff lists were reportedly ranked based on each individual’s contribution to Twitter’s code, and Musk asked help from Tesla’s directors and engineers to assess them.
Aside from ordering a mass layoff to save money, Musk is also implementing huge changes to make money, such as raising the price of Twitter Blue to $8 a month from $3. Bloomberg says the new pricing could go live as soon as Monday next week. The subscription will also be a requirement for blue verification badges going forward, though users who are already verified will be given months to start paying before they lose their check mark.