Layoffs, budget cuts and burnout: Several former Twitter employees paint a bleak portrait of the working atmosphere that has prevailed at the company since it was bought by Elon Musk for a whopping sum of 44 billion US dollars in October 2022.
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According to former employees quoted by Intelligencer magazine, the atmosphere in Twitter’s offices was previously relaxed. “There really wasn’t an authority figure,” says Alicia, an engineer who worked for Twitter for ten years before being fired. “It was a bottom-up organization.”
The arrival of Elon Musk has ushered in a culture shift. The latter, which advocated freedom of expression for Twitter users, restricted that of its employees. Any criticism of his management style could result in dismissal.
sword of Damocles
Elon Musk’s growing interest in Twitter has led to several rumours. The billionaire was rumored to be planning to cut 75% of jobs within Twitter, seriously undermining troops’ morale.
“We could hear sobbing near the toilets,” several employees said.
50% of the company’s jobs were eliminated in the days following Elon Musk’s acquisition, which translates to around 3,000 jobs.
All of the budget cuts dictated by Elon Musk have resulted in the elimination of several teams deemed “non-essential,” such as those responsible for housekeeping.
The lack of equipment and staff forced some employees to bring their own toilet paper into the office.
Several benefits were cut and employees were ordered not to take vacations.
The devastating impact these layoffs had on the site’s operations forced the new management to reconsider their decision. Just a few days after the wave of layoffs, there was talk of rehiring some employees.
However, the toxic working atmosphere and the ban on teleworking have motivated several people to leave.
“We had unrealistic deadlines for some of our tasks,” a former employee told the Intelligencer. The stress was palpable as we walked through the offices.”
Some employees monitored Elon Musk’s Twitter account for updates on changes at the company.
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Twitter files
Morale was already low when Elon Musk revealed the Twitter Files. These documents, designed to show the Democratic Party’s involvement in censoring a New York Post article about Hunter Biden, the US President’s son, did not have the desired effect.
Matt Taibbi, the author of this tweet series, has failed to hide the contact details of some Twitter employees, exposing them to the wrath of the internet. Several of them have been the target of harassment. Some even had to move.
Nothing to stop the bleeding
These drastic measures were not enough to stop the bleeding. The owner of Twitter’s San Francisco office has filed a court case against Elon Musk for failing to pay rent. The social network organized an auction to save money. Data centers were also closed.
In three months, the billionaire managed to undermine public trust in Twitter and lost much of his fortune. The chaos caused by his arrival caused Tesla stock to plummet, resulting in a loss of $200 billion.
The businessman now believes that the social network could go bust in the near future.