Elon Musk rejects reports of firing Twitter employees in an effort to avoid payouts

Tesla CEO Elon Musk who officially took over the microblogging platform Twitter has rejected a New York Times report which claimed that Twitter is laying off employees in order to dodge stock grants that were due this week. Musk asserted, in response to a Twitter user who inquired about the layoffs, "This is false." Musk's remarks came after the New York Times reported on Saturday, October 26 that Musk had mandated layoffs before November 1, when workers were supposed to get stock grants as part of their remuneration. Musk had also ordered employment cutbacks across the firm, with some teams to be slashed more than others, Australian Associated Press reported.  

According to a report in the New York Times, "Musk, who completed a USD 44 billion deal to buy Twitter on Thursday, has ordered the cuts across the company, with some teams to be trimmed more than others." The report also stated that the "scale of the layoffs could not be determined" at the firm, which employs about 7,500 people. 

The Times further reported who cited unnamed individuals with knowledge of the situation, the cuts could start as soon as this Saturday. 

Twitter severance package

In an attempt to avoid having to make hefty severance payments, Musk reportedly laid off additional employees on Saturday while also firing key executives, Australian Associated Press reported. 

Before Elon Musk acquired Twitter, there were reports that he would reduce staffing, with some predicting up to 75% of the company's employees may lose their jobs.  

It is pertinent to mention that these grants generally make up a sizable amount of an employee's salary. By cutting off employees before that date, Musk "may avoid paying the grants". Musk would "take Twitter private, reduce its workforce, roll back its content moderation rules, and find new revenue streams," according to statements he made to investors. 

As Musk's acquisition was finalised, the CEO Parag Agrawal, legal executive Vijaya Gadde, chief financial officer Ned Segal, and general counsel Sean Edgett were fired.  

Besides this, the Twitter redesign also kicked off soon after the purchase. Musk sparked speculations that he could review previously banned Twitter accounts and make changes to them shortly after the acquisition. " Let the good times roll", he wrote in a tweet. In accordance with his Twitter redesign strategy, he also posted regarding content moderation, by saying, "Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints. No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes." 

Twitter accepted Musk's takeover bid for Twitter in the month of April. He later however withdrew from the deal by claiming that Twitter had not given a precise estimate of the amount of spam and fraudulent bot accounts. Markets fell sharply as Twitter sued Musk for cancelling a contract under the guise of bogus bots. Musk ultimately decided to proceed with the acquisition at the initial agreed-upon price of 54.20 USD per share. 

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