Twitter is reportedly losing more employees a day after CEO Elon Musk gave them a deadline to choose to work “hardcore” or resign with severance pay.
In a company-wide email sent Wednesday, Musk told employees the choice had to be made by 5 p.m. EST Thursday. After the deadline, some employees took to the social media platform to announce they were “signing off,” according to the Associated Press.
More employees reportedly went to a private forum outside the company’s messaging board to discuss their planned departures.
An employee fired earlier in the week, who spoke to the AP anonymously for fear of retaliation, said people were asking if resigning would affect their U.S. visas and if they would actually get the promised severance pay.
A receptionist works in the lobby of the building that houses the Twitter office in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022.
(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
It is not clear how many staff members decided to leave after Wednesday’s email, but Musk recently booted half of the company’s 7,500 full-time workforce and an undisclosed number of contractors.
Fortune Magazine tech reporter Kylie Robison tweeted Thursday evening she heard unconfirmed reports that roughly 75% of Twitter’s remaining 3,700 employees resigned at the deadline.
In a thread, Robison said if the reports are true, the company would have shrunk by “whopping” 88% in only a month.
Some remaining Twitter employees took to the platform to extend well-wishes to coworkers who decided to leave the company.
“To all the Tweeps who decided to make today your last day: thanks for being incredible teammates through the ups and downs. I can’t wait to see what you do next,” Esther Crawford tweeted Thursday.
Crawford is remaining at the company and has been working on the overhaul of the platform’s verification system.
The newest round of departures puts the platform in a difficult position as it gears up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which is reportedly one of Twitter’s busiest events.
In addition to the massive layoffs and the Thursday deadline, Musk fired a small group of engineers earlier in the week who spoke out against him publicly and in the company’s internal Slack messaging system.
He also made waves on his first day at Twitter’s helm by firing numerous top executives while others left voluntarily in the aftermath.
ELON MUSK MOCKS CLAIM HE’S STARVING TWITTER EMPLOYEES FOR ENDING FREE LUNCHES: ‘IS THIS A PARODY?’
The Twitter splash page is seen on a digital device, Monday, April 25, 2022, in San Diego.
(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
On Thursday, Musk sent a softer email backpedaling on his initial decision to ban remote work and make every employee work in the office. Employees are now allowed to work remotely as long as their manager approves and takes responsibility to ensure all employees are making “excellent contributions.”
Remote workers would also be expected to attend “in-person meetings with your colleagues on a reasonable cadence, ideally weekly, but not less than once per month,” the AP reported.
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In the early morning hours on Friday, #RIPTwitter was the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter followed by Elon. Other trending topics were Twitter Off, Since Twitter, Before Twitter, and #TwitterIsOverParty.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
