Twitter layoffs begin as Elon Musk seeks to steady wobbly tech firm

04/11/2022 15:27

Twitter employees braced for massive job cuts on Friday in the wake of Elon Musk’s purchase of the social media platform, which is battling to generate a more robust revenue stream as it attempts to diminish a lake of red ink. It wasn’t immediately clear, however, whether the Twitter layoffs — which could chop one-fourth or even half of the social network’s workforce — were closely following California labor regulations. The state Employment Development Department, as of Thursday night, had not received any WARN notifications from Twitter regarding layoffs at the company. Employers are required to give a 60-day notice to employees, as well as state and local officials, of any mass layoffs or a plant shutdown. The wrenching layoffs at Twitter had been anticipated for weeks after it became clear that Musk, the world’s wealthiest person and chief executive officer of electric vehicle maker Tesla, would become the top boss at Twitter. On Oct. 27, Musk completed a $44 billion acquisition of Twitter through a transaction that also took the tech company private. Musk faces a daunting task in his quest to reverse Twitter’s financial woes and bring the company to profitability. During the 12 months that ended on June 30, Twitter lost $111.9 million on revenue of $5.23 billion. In 2021, Twitter lost $221.4 million on revenue of $5.08 billion.