Following days of speculation after Elon Musk’s recent takeover of Twitter in a $44 billion deal, the company is expected to make significant job cuts on Friday.
In a widely reported internal email sent to Twitter employees on Thursday, the company said:
“In an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path, we will go through the difficult process of reducing our global workforce on Friday. 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.”
Staff will find out if they’re keeping their job via email “to inform impacted individuals as quickly as possible,” the message said.
Notifications will be sent out by 9 a.m. PT, with all employees receiving an email with the subject line: “Your Role at Twitter. Please check your email, including your spam folder.”
It said that if a person’s employment is not impacted, the notification will go to their work account, but if their position has been terminated, it will go to their personal email.
“To help ensure the safety of each employee as well as Twitter systems and customer data, our offices will be temporarily closed and all badge access will be suspended,” Twitter’s email said. “If you are in an office or on your way to an office, please return home.”
It added: “We acknowledge this is an incredibly challenging experience to go through, whether or not you are impacted. 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 for your patience as we move through this process.”
It’s not clear how many of Twitter’s 7,500 employees globally will lose their position at the company. Reports last month suggested as many as 75% of the staff could be axed, while yesterday insiders suggested the headcount would be reduced by around half.
Twitter hopes that by cutting the payroll and by making other changes such as charging users who want to keep their blue verification badges, it can improve the company’s bottom line. But many fear that a drastic reduction in the workforce could lead to more problems as it will have fewer people to grapple with any issues that arise on the platform.
One thing is clear, though. The company is currently in a massive state of flux, with staff and users alike unclear as to how things are going to pan out for the platform. With Musk already having fired the CEO and the entire board, and speculation swirling about the kinds of changes that could be coming, it’s likely to be some time before normal service resumes.
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