It has been a turbulent time for the microblogging platform Twitter since Elon Musk acquired the platform. After the completion of the deal in October 2022, the CEO has taken some radical steps to revive the platform and bring back its glory. However, his trial-and-error methodology is not working well for the platform, its employees, and its users. Musk has completely fired Twitter’s top-tier executives, conducted mass layoffs reduced the number of employees, and in a new move, ask employees for a “hardcore” commitment or resignation.
Due to the dwindling finances, after the ads revenues started decreasing, Musk previously added a subscription for verification with a blue tick for $7.99 a month. But, it proved to be haywire. After losing $4 million every day, he started sacking its employees and contractors, too. But, in the past few days, he has fired veteran employees for criticizing his decisions and policies. After the previous email about the rigorous working hours, many employees did not comply and this has led to mass resignation. In turn, the CEO has shut down all the offices and is not allowing any employees until further notice.
Also Read: Elon Musk Gives Another Ultimatum To Twitter Employees. Here’s What He Said
Elon Musk May Be Terrified That Employees May Sabotage The Company
In the first week of November 2022, Elon announced a mass layoff to reduce the head counts in the company. This policy led to the sacking of half of the 7,500 workforces around the globe. However, the decision did not sit well with the employees due to the sudden move without any prior notice. But, the tables have turned at the social media giant. The employees themselves resigned en masse!
On November 16, 2022, the CEO sent an email, more like an ultimatum, regarding the revamp of the platform. The purpose was to inform the employees that they have to work long hours with high intensity. Due to the heavy software work that needs to be done to make Twitter 2.0 a success, he asked the engineers to comply. He gave a deadline of Thursday at 5:00 P.M. ET or gave them the option to leave with “three months of severance.”
NEW: Twitter just alerted employees that effective immediately, all office buildings are temporarily closed and badge access is suspended. No details given as to why.
— Zoë Schiffer (@ZoeSchiffer) November 17, 2022
But many employees chose the latter option and walked off their jobs. This has created a chaotic situation for the South African billionaire. He has ordered the shutdown of all Twitter offices till November 21st, 2022. The ID access to the employees has also been denied. But, as per Platformer’s Zoe Schiffer, the move is “to prevent physical sabotage while they sort out access revocations.” Almost half of the remaining 4,000 employees complied with the ultimatum to go extremely “hardcore”.
Also Read: Elon Musk Continues Firing Employees From Twitter For Criticism
This Is Not The First Time The Twitter Offices Were Shut
Things are getting dramatic at Twitter since Musk self-appointed himself as the CEO of the company after the acquisition. This is the second time that he has suddenly shut his offices without any prior notice. The first time was when he was planning for mass layoffs on November 4th, 2022.
In an internal memo, it said, “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. If you are in an office or on your way to an office, please return home.” The employees were abruptly told in an email that the company is reducing half of its workforce.
However, the employees retaliated to this radical move by moving to court by filing a class-action lawsuit. They sued the company for not giving prior notice and not complying with The Worker Adjustable And Retraining Notification Act. On behalf of the employees, the attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan filed the suit and said, “We will now see if he is going to continue to thumb his nose at the laws of this country that protect employees. It appears that he’s repeating the same playbook of what he did at Tesla.”
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