Twitter has notified employees that it will be “reducing our global workforce” on Friday, November 4th, according to an unsigned internal memo seen by The Verge.
The confirmation comes a week after Elon Musk became Twitter’s new owner and quickly started changing how the company operates and its product roadmap. Since then, speculation about the timing and scope of the expected layoffs has run rampant inside Twitter.
Employees will receive an email by 9AM PST on November 4th confirming whether they have been laid off or not, according to the internal memo, which also states that employee badge access to Twitter’s offices will be shut off “temporarily.”
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“We acknowledge this is an incredibly challenging experience to go through, whether or not you are impacted,” the memo reads. “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.”
While the memo doesn't detail how many employees will lose their jobs, Musk is expected to cut roughly half of Twitter’s roughly 7,500-person workforce. His team of outside advisors has spent the last week determining which engineers and technical managers to keep based largely on their recent contributions to Twitter’s codebase, according to employees involved in the discussions.
The layoffs are part of Musk’s push to reign in Twitter’s costs. Back in June, before he initially tried to get out of his deal to buy Twitter, he told employees: “Right now, the costs exceed the revenue. So that’s not a great situation to be in. And so there would have to be some rationalization of headcount and expenses to have revenue be greater than cost. Otherwise, Twitter is simply not viable or can’t grow.”
After employees received the memo confirming layoffs would begin, many began quickly trying to unlink their Twitter accounts from their work email addresses — a company-mandated policy that also requires physical keys for two-factor authentication.
“I also hope [the] failure of this past week hangs heavy on you to remind you to do better.”
In Twitter’s Slack and group chats, other employees complained about the lack of internal communication from Musk and Twitter’s other leaders over the past week. “I truly wish you all well - for your sake, for the sake of your teams, and for the sake of the many people and communities this product serves,” one data scientist wrote in a Slack message addressed to leadership that was seen by The Verge. “But I also hope [the] failure of this past week hangs heavy on you to remind you to do better.”
You can read the full Twitter memo to employees below:
Team,
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.
Given the nature of our distributed workforce and our desire to inform impacted individuals as quickly as possible, communications for this process will take place via email. By 9AM PST on Friday Nov. 4th, everyone will receive an individual email with the subject line: Your Role at Twitter. Please check your email, including your spam folder.
- If your employment is not impacted, you will receive a notification via your Twitter email.
- If your employment is impacted, you will receive a notification with next steps via your personal email.
- If you do not receive an email from twitter-hr@ by 5PM PST on Friday Nov. 4th, please email peoplequestions@twitter.com.
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.
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.
Thank you.
Twitter
Do you know more about what’s going on inside OpenAI? I’d love to chat. You can reach me by email at alex.heath@theverge.com or through the contact form on my Linktree. Then we can set up a secure channel.
FAQs
Twitter has notified employees that it will be “reducing our global workforce” on Friday, November 4th, according to an unsigned internal memo seen by The Verge. The confirmation comes a week after Elon Musk became Twitter's new owner and quickly started changing how the company operates and its product roadmap.
How many Twitter employees were laid off by Elon Musk? ›
Elon Musk said laying off nearly 6,500 people at Twitter was "painful" and difficult for him. He told the BBC's James Clayton on Tuesday that it was "one of the hardest things" he's had to do. Musk said Twitter now employs 1,500 people, down from around 7,800 when he took over in November.
Who is laying off employees in 2024? ›
Companies like Tesla, Amazon, Google, TikTok, Snap and Microsoft have conducted sizable layoffs in the first months of 2024. Smaller-sized startups have also seen a fair amount of cuts, and in some cases, have shut down operations altogether.
Why is Tesla laying off so many people? ›
According to Bloomberg, Musk privately expressed a desire to lay off at least 20 percent of the company because its quarterly vehicle deliveries fell by that much.
How many employees will Tesla lay off in 2024? ›
Published: May. 20, 2024, 6:32 p.m.
How many Twitter employees are left? ›
Since Elon Musk took the reins at Twitter as its CEO in October 2022, its workforce has dropped by 80% and reportedly hovers at around 1,300 employees, according to CNBC. Among the remaining staffers, less than 550 are full-time engineers, the network found following a review of the website's internal records.
Did Elon Musk cut 90% of Twitter staff? ›
Since the billionaire acquired Twitter, he has slashed nearly 90% of employees, according to a report from Business Insider. Musk explained that before the layoffs there was one person in a meeting who "helped move things forward," and nine others who tried to "slam the brakes on."
What is the largest layoff in history? ›
What are the largest layoffs in history? The all-time record for corporate clearcutting belongs to beige icon IBM. In July 1993, IBM laid off 60,000 people. It was especially a shock to stalwart IBM employees, since the company had never engaged in layoffs before.
Is FedEx laying off in 2024? ›
FedEx Freight to close 7 service centers nationwide in 2024.
Is Walmart laying off? ›
The retailer also said “the majority” of remote workers and those at offices in Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto, must relocate — mostly to its Arkansas headquarters.
Drivers charge their Teslas in Santa Ana, California, March 20, 2024. Tesla is in trouble. Yesterday, the company announced that its profits for the first three months of this year fell by 55 percent from the first three months of 2023. Sales declined by 8.5 percent.
Why is everyone leaving Tesla? ›
Since Tesla's layoffs announcement in mid-April, six known executives have left the company. Some of the execs have cited plans to spend more time with family, while others have stayed silent. Elon Musk vowed to cut 10% of Tesla's workforce last month and called for "hardcore" cuts Monday.
How much do Teslas cost? ›
How does the price range vary across different Tesla models?
| Tesla model (2024) | Low-end | High-end |
|---|
| Model 3 | $40,380 | $49,130 |
| Model Y | $49,130 | $53,880 |
| Model S | $76,380 | $91,380 |
| Model X | $81,380 | $96,380 |
1 more rowMar 6, 2024
Depends on the line and position, but production workers can typically work 60+ hours a week.
How old are Tesla employees? ›
Tesla employee average age
| Employees Age | Percentages |
|---|
| Less than 18 years | 1% |
| 18-20 years | 9% |
| 20-30 years | 51% |
| 30-40 years | 22% |
1 more rowMake no mistake, Tesla has big goals—with Musk proclaiming that the business will succeed in its mission to solve autonomy, even if he's “kidnapped by aliens”—and it was employing over 140,000 people as of late last year to help achieve those lofty ambitions.
How many employees did Twitter have before Elon took over? ›
Before Musk bought Twitter, the total headcount was 7,500. Twitter now has less than 550 engineers working for it.
What did Elon Musk do to the employees of Twitter? ›
He has since sought to cut costs dramatically in a bid to make it a profitable venture. As part of that strategy, Musk laid off thousands of Twitter's employees. It cut another 200 jobs last month, according to a report from The New York Times, taking its total staff count down to 2,000 from roughly 7,500 in October.
How much does a Twitter employee make? ›
Average Twitter salary by state
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|
| 1 | California | $160,428 |
| 2 | Washington | $159,802 |
| 3 | New York | $141,472 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $136,039 |
6 more rowsTwitter's Net Income from 2010
For the quarter ending on 31 March 2022, Twitter's quarterly net earnings amounted to $513 million. For the quarter ending 06 June 2022, its net loss was $-270 million. Apart from two years, 2018 and 2019, Twitter consistently reported annual net losses.
