It has been more than a week since Elon Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter. After taking the charge, he made some radical decisions. The first among many is firing top-tier executives. He disappointed the blue-tick owners on Twitter charging them $8. However, the Tesla owner went rogue on the employees at the micro-blogging site. Musk announced a layoff affecting half of the employees at Twitter. Concerning the layoffs, the former chief Jack Dorsey has responded.
In 2021, Jack resigned as the CEO of Twitter. He wanted to focus on his fin-tech venture, Square. After his resignation, Parag Agrawal took the position of CEO, who also got fired after Musk took over the platform. Musk sacked 7,500 members of staff at Twitter in a move on Friday. Many employees were disappointed with this move. Now, the former chief is taking the responsibility for Musk’s radical step.
Also Read: Why Did Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey Retain His Stake After Elon Musk Took Over?
“I Realize Many Are Angry With Me”: Jack Dorsey Apologizes To The Sacked Members At Twitter
On November 3rd, 2022, Twitter sent an internal memo informing their staff about a mass layoff. In the memo, They asked them to stay home until further notice. The platform prohibited the employees from entering the premises of the office.
It also informed that the members who will be retained will get an email on their official ID. The one who will be sacked will be informed via a personal email. This disappointed the employees, who moved to court to file a class-action lawsuit.
After the layoffs, the former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey used the platform to express his regret and took responsibility for the current situation. He wrote, “Folks at Twitter, past, and present, are strong and resilient. They will always find a way no matter how difficult the moment.
I am grateful for, and love, everyone who has ever worked on Twitter. I don't expect that to be mutual in this moment…or ever…and I understand. 💙
— jack (@jack) November 5, 2022
Dorsey continued, “I realize many are angry with me. I own the responsibility for why everyone is in this situation: I grew the company size too quickly. I apologize for that.”
He continued, “I am grateful for, and love, everyone who has ever worked on Twitter. I don’t expect that to be mutual at this moment … or ever … and I understand,” he ended the tweet with a blue heart emoji.
Also Read: Jack Dorsey Says He Supports The Vision Of Elon Musk After The Latter Purchases The Whole Firm
Elon Musk Defended His Mass Layoff Move
After the employees received the memo of the 50% cutoffs, they approached the court to file a class-action suit. On the behalf of the employees, the attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan filed the lawsuit at San Francisco Federal Court. The employees alleged that they did not get any prior notice about the sudden layoffs. As per the Worker Adjustment and Restraining Notice Notification, the employees had to be informed two months before sacking them.
Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day.
Everyone exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 4, 2022
However, the now-CEO Elon Musk defended his actions on Twitter. He wrote, “Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately, there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day. Everyone exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required.” Twitter has sacked roughly 7,500 employees.
Also Read: Elon Musk Likely To Attract Wrath Of European Regulators As Twitter Shuts Operation In Ireland