After the expired ultimatum, Twitter apparently lost hundreds more employees. Most recently, Musk has tried to persuade some to stay.
After Elon Musk’s ultimatum for the remaining Twitter employees expired, the social network apparently lost several hundred more employees. The US media report unanimously. The Verge writes that before Musk’s ultimatum, Twitter still had around 2,900 employees, down from around 7,500 before Elon Musk took over.
“I think by the time the dust settles there will probably be fewer than 2,000 people left,” the BBC quoted an anonymous former employee as saying. Meanwhile, Musk and his team have apparently tried to persuade key employees to stay. The company’s offices were then closed until Monday, allegedly for fear of sabotage and because it should first be determined who still works at the company.
Musk on Twitter: Persuasion before the end of the ultimatum
With the ongoing wave of churn, the chaos on Twitter continues. Earlier in the week, the new boss emailed the remaining staff, demanding, “If you’re sure you want to be part of the new Twitter, please click ‘yes’ below.” Thinking time remained until 5 p.m. Thursday, EST. Those who decided against the job were guaranteed three months’ salary as severance pay. Some had thought that the ultimatum made it easier for them to dare to say goodbye. Musk had announced that Twitter needed to be “extremely hardcore,” primarily in terms of hours, effort, and dedication to the work — but also to Elon Musk himself.
As the New York Times now reports, the layoffs came in massive numbers on Thursday. Musk and his team would then schedule meetings with employees they deem essential and wanted to dissuade them from resigning. The deadline expired during a large meeting to which the remaining employees were connected via video. While Musk was still talking, some had dropped out – apparently after deciding to say goodbye. The farewell greetings were received on internal communication channels, The Verge quoted sources with the expectation that the Twitter platform should soon fall apart. It will be very difficult for Twitter to recover from the massive outflow.
Twitter alienates some of its advertisers
While the farewell hashtag #RIPTwitter is trending once again on Twitter, Musk is undeterred there. The platform has again seen an all-time high in usage, he tweeted. He had only taken over the service three weeks ago and not only plunged into chaos with the immense job cuts but also with several decisions and their reversals.
He probably also scared off parts of the advertising clientele, on whose money the service had previously been dependent. The planned subscription service should come back at the end of the month. It remains to be seen whether the remaining employees will be able to implement this and keep Twitter running until then.
TechAint 