Elon Musk’s plans for Twitter Inc. involve slashing its staff by nearly 75 percent in a matter of months, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post.
Musk, whose $44 billion purchase of the social network is set to close by Oct. 28, would reduce Twitter’s staff to just more than 2,000 people, compared with the 7,500 it currently employs, the Post reported, citing Musk’s comments to prospective investors. Musk had told investors he planned to shrink staff in his initial pitch to bankers for funding, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg in April.
The billionaire, also a chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., earlier this month said he would follow through with his agreement to take Twitter private, ending a months-long court battle over the deal. Even if Musk doesn’t end up owning Twitter, the company would need to trim its workforce to cut costs, according to the Post.
However, Twitter Inc., confronting reports that Elon Musk aims to gut its workforce as part of his takeover, told staff that there haven’t been plans for companywide layoffs since it signed a deal to be acquired by the billionaire.
In a memo seen by Bloomberg News, Twitter General Counsel Sean Edgett warned workers to expect “tons of public rumors and speculation” as the closing of the deal nears. “We do not have any confirmation of the buyer’s plans following close and recommend not following rumors or leaked documents but rather wait for facts from us and the buyer directly,” he said.
Bloomberg News confirmed that potential investors were told of the plan for cuts, along with an effort to double revenue within three years.
In his memo, Edgett said discussions about cost savings and planning occurred earlier in the year. “Those discussions stopped once the merger agreement was signed,” he said. “Since the merger agreement has been in place, there have been no plans for any companywide layoffs.”
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