Paranoia or totalitarianism? Elon Musk is not stopping the spree of firing employees anytime soon. There have been some radical decisions taken since Musk has come on board to revamp Twitter for good! He completed his $44 billion deal in October 2022 after it was halted due to complex legalities. When he became the CEO, many top-tier employees were thrown out, and then in November 2022, he fired half of his workforce due to huge losses.
But, he seems to not stop at that. When the tech mogul was in the process of buying Twitter, he ensured that there would be free and flowing criticism and free speech. However, he is not living up to his promises. After two of the engineers criticized Musk on the platform, they were immediately fired over the weekend. And now, it is alleged that more employees are getting fired at Twitter.
Also Read: Does Elon Musk Really Believe In Free Speech? His Actions Contradict His Views
Casey Newton Alleges That Elon Musk Fired At Least 20 Employees Over Criticism Row
The good ol’ days at Twitter are no more! The chaos ensued when Musk brought up the platform and has not stopped since. The billionaire has taken some bold steps for the “betterment” of the app. In the first email to employees since its acquisition, he told them that the company may go bankrupt after advertisers started pulling out, and wants to introduce subscriptions.
I have spent ~6yrs working on Twitter for Android and can say this is wrong. https://t.co/sh30ZxpD0N
— Eric Frohnhoefer @ 🏡 (@EricFrohnhoefer) November 13, 2022
As the former tech lead for timelines infrastructure at Twitter, I can confidently say this man has no idea wtf he's talking about https://t.co/ZaVWpzqMxU
— Ben Leib (@bgleib) November 13, 2022
With all the new decisions, he forgot the core motive of buying Twitter. Free speech. It seems that this practice cannot be conducted by the employees on either the platform or in the company. Recently, two employees were fired when they pointed out the flaws on the microblogging platform. A writer at Platformer, Casey Newton has updated on the situation of the rampant firing of employees.
NEW: Employees who have criticized Elon Musk in Twitter’s Slack channels were fired overnight over email.
“We regret to inform you that your employment is terminated immediately,” they’re being told over email. “Your recent behavior has violated company policy.”
— Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton) November 15, 2022
In a Twitter thread, he alleged that 20 more employees “who have criticized Elon Musk in Twitter’s Slack channels were fired overnight over email”. In the email, he said, the company wrote, “We regret to inform you that your employment is terminated immediately. Your recent behavior has violated company policy.”
He conducted interviews for a report and found out from employees that Yao Yue, now a former engineer at Twitter, who was “one of the absolute best engineers” they had was fired.
After 12 amazing years and 3 weeks of chaos, I’m officially fired by Twitter.
Never expected I would have stayed this long, and never expected I would be this relieved to be gone.
I have a lot of stories to tell. But to my fellow (ex-)tweeps-#LoveWhereYouWorked 🫡 pic.twitter.com/lVWbqpcSXO
— Yao Yue 岳峣 (@thinkingfish) November 15, 2022
Also Read: 10 Fake Verified Accounts Creating Chaos On Elon Musk’s Twitter
The CEO Re-Hired Two Of The Sacked Employees At Twitter
On 14th November 2022, two engineers Eric Frohnhoefer and Ben Lieb on Twitter after firing half of the global workforce. The foremost reason why he bought the platform in the first place was to restore free speech. He tweeted, “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter because that is what free speech means.”
I would like to apologize for firing these geniuses. Their immense talent will no doubt be of great use elsewhere.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 15, 2022
After firing the two engineers, he replied to a tweet that mentioned the firing instance after the two criticized him. He sarcastically replied, “I would like to apologize for firing these geniuses. Their immense talent will no doubt be of great use elsewhere.”
However, in turn of events, the Tesla owner became generous and re-hired two of the employees during the mass layoffs, Rahul Ligma and Daniel Johnson. In the same thread where he sarcastically attacked the employees, a user asked Elon, “Just wonder if you feel bad about Rahul Ligma, fired from Twitter and just heard he got a job at FTX only to be fired from there a week later. Sad couple months for that guy….sigh.”
Ligma & Johnson are welcome back anytime
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 15, 2022
To this, Musk replied that they both are welcome back anytime. After five hours after the reply, he tweeted that Ligma and Johnson are back in the company. He agreed, “Important to admit when I’m wrong & firing them was truly one of my biggest mistakes.”
Important to admit when I’m wrong & firing them was truly one of my biggest mistakes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 15, 2022
Also Read: Does Elon Musk Have An Office? Where Does He Work From Every Day?
