Twitter to lay off 25% of workforce in first round of job cuts, report says

Rumours spread over how much of social network's workforce Elon Musk will lay off

A person walks past the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, California. AFP

Twitter, which Elon Musk acquired last week, plans to lay off one quarter of its workforce as part of what is expected to be a first round of job cuts, The Washington Post reported on Monday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Celebrity lawyer Alex Spiro, a long-time Musk legal representative, led the conversations about the job cuts, the report said.

Twitter had more than 7,000 employees at the end of 2021, a regulatory filing showed. One quarter of the headcount would amount to about 2,000 employees.

Mr Musk meanwhile denied a New York Times report about laying off Twitter employees at a date earlier than November 1 to avoid stock grants due on that day.

In response to a Twitter user asking about the layoffs, Mr Musk tweeted: “This is false.”

Twitter did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

On Monday, Mr Musk became the sole director of the social media company after the removal of all nine other board members, in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement, a securities filing showed.

Concerns over massive layoffs swirled in the run-up to Mr Musk’s buyout, when potential investors were told that he would eliminate 75 per cent of the workforce.

Mr Musk later denied the cuts would be that deep, though he has not elaborated on his plans. In recent weeks, Mr Musk has hinted at his staffing priorities, saying he wants to focus on the core product.

The Tesla head fired Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal, finance chief Ned Segal and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde on completion of a six-month $44 billion buyout saga of the social media platform on Thursday, sources told Reuters.

News agencies contributed to this report

After months of negotiations, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk finally purchased Twitter on October 27. AFP

The billionaire took control of microblogging platform and fired its top executives, including chief executive Parag Agrawal, left, as well as the company's chief financial officer and its head of legal policy, trust and safety. AFP

Elon Musk entering Twitter headquarters carrying a sink through the lobby area on Wednesday, October 26, 2022. Musk posted a video Wednesday showing him strolling into Twitter headquarters ahead of a Friday deadline to close his $44 billion deal to buy the company. AP

Mr Musk and his children Damian, Kai, Saxon and Griffin met Pope Francis in July at the Vatican. AFP

Mr Musk speaks by video in June to the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha. Bloomberg

Mr Musk answers questions at the Qatar Economic Forum. Bloomberg

Mr Musk arrives at the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in May. Reuters

Mr Musk and his mother Maye Musk arrive at the Met Gala in May. AFP

Mother and son pose and laugh on the Met Gala red carpet. EPA

Mr Musk waves at the Met Gala. Reuters

Mr Musk joins in online at the 'Financial Times' Future of the Car Summit in May. Financial Times

Mr Musk attends the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, in March. Reuters

Mr Musk at the Tesla factory in Berlin, Germany, in March. AP

Mr Musk speaks at SpaceX's Starbase centre in South Texas in February. AFP

The entrepreneur shakes hands with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in Porto Feliz, Brazil, in May. AP

Mr Bolsonaro and Mr Musk greet each other in Sao Paulo. Reuters

Indonesian President Joko Widodo meets Mr Musk at the SpaceX launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, in May. Reuters

Mr Musk shows Mr Widodo his mobile phone during a tour of the SpaceX launch site in Texas. Reuters