Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Elon Musk defends culling Twitter staff but insists commitment to moderation remains 'absolutely unchanged'

Elon Musk defends culling Twitter staff but insists commitment to moderation remains 'absolutely unchanged'

The job losses were widely expected, despite the company last month moving to reassure staff that there were no plans for mass redundancies after Mr Musk's $44bn takeover.
Elon Musk has defended sacking half of Twitter's 8,000 workers, saying "unfortunately, there is no choice".

Mr Musk insisted that the platform's commitment to moderation remained "absolutely unchanged".

He tweeted: "Regarding Twitter's reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4m a day.

"Everyone exited was offered three months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required."

Just minutes before Mr Musk's tweets, Twitter head of safety and integrity Yoel Roth confirmed the layoffs had affected 50% of the company, including approximately 15% of the trust and safety department.

Frontline moderation staff had experienced "the least impact", he added.

Mr Musk re-tweeted this, describing it as an "excellent summary".

The words were aimed at reassuring users worried that Mr Musk's takeover and the job losses would gut the moderation and safety teams and render the platform lawless.

This is particularly important ahead of the US midterm elections, with Twitter having been blamed as a factor in the spread of disinformation and abuse.

Jessica González, co-chief executive of Free Press, said: "When you layoff reportedly 50% of your staff - including teams who are in charge of actually tracking, monitoring and enforcing content moderation and rules - that necessarily means that content moderation has changed."

Entire teams eliminated

Several employees tweeted about losing their jobs, saying Twitter had eliminated teams focused on human rights and global conflicts, another team checking algorithms for bias in how tweets are amplified, and an engineering team devoted to making the platform more accessible for people with disabilities.

The company had moved to reassure staff last month that there were no plans for mass redundancies after it was reported that Mr Musk wanted to make 75% of the workforce redundant after his $44bn (£38.4bn) takeover.

But Mr Musk fired a number of top executives, including Chief Executive Parag Agrawal, and removed the company's board of directors on his first day as owner.

Lawsuit filed by ex-employees

Employees were later told that they would find out their future on Friday, with some getting early clues after losing access to their work accounts.

At least one lawsuit has been filed by four ex-employees alleging Twitter had violated federal law by not giving fired employees the required notice, The Associated Press reported.

Mr Musk could also be open to discrimination claims if it turns out that certain groups were disproportionately affected, such as women, people of colour or older workers.

'Great care' needed in 'layoffs of this magnitude'

Employment lawyer Peter Rahbar told The Associated Press that most employers "take great care in doing layoffs of this magnitude" to make sure they are justified and don't unfairly discriminate or bring unwanted attention to the company.

"For some reason, he seemingly wants to lay off half the company without doing any due diligence on what these people do or who they are and without any regards to the law."

In the UK, Twitter is required by law to give employees notice, according to Emma Bartlett, a partner in employment and partnership law at CM Murray LLP.

Failure to notify the government in the case of mass firings could "have criminal penalties associated with it", she said, adding that whether criminal sanctions are ever applied is another question.

Meanwhile, a number of companies said they will suspend ad spending on Twitter, including United Airlines, Audi, General Mills and General Motors.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Arsenal Stages Comeback to Draw 2-2 Against Liverpool in Premier League Clash
Trump's Upcoming Visit to Gulf Nations: Investment and Security at the Forefront
Rodrigo Duterte Awaits Trial at The Hague. Next week he might be elected mayor of his hometown
Trump fires director of U.S. Copyright Office, sources say
Retired British police officer arrested over ‘thought crime’ tweet
Cardinal Robert Prevost Elected as Pope Leo XIV, Marking a Historic Papacy
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka Arrested at ICE Facility Amid Congressional Visit
India-Pakistan conflict may be first test for Chinese military tech
Bill Gates Announces Plan to Wind Down Philanthropic Foundation and Disperse Wealth
Historic Papal Conclave Set to Commence in Rome
Huge Copper, Gold, and Silver Discovery in Argentina and Chile — But the Profits Go Abroad
Prince Harry is pleading for reconciliation — but the royals are just as sick of his victimhood as everyone else
The Road to Freedom: She Protested Putin, Escaped House Arrest, and Survived a 2,800-Kilometer Journey
OpenAI's Flip-Flop: No Longer Going Commercial, Back to Nonprofit, After Musk Lawsuit and Backlash
“Trump Supporter” Aims to Bring a MAGA-Style Shift to Romania
First From China: Zhao Xintong Wins the Snooker World Championship
Nvidia Faces Billion-Dollar Losses – Warns: China Is on Its Way to Becoming an AI Superpower
Trump Rules Out Third Term, Names JD Vance and Marco Rubio as Potential Successors
Mexico Says ‘No’ to U.S. Troops: President Sheinbaum Rejects Trump’s Offer to Fight Cartels
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Storms the Map, Wrecking the Two-Party Monopoly
DOGE: Reimagining Government Operations with AI
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Beijing Says U.S. Is ‘Reaching Out’ for Tariff Talks Amid Soaring Trade Tensions
U.K. Court Rejects Prince Harry’s Final Appeal Over Police Security
Prince Harry’s Heartfelt Outburst Rocks the Royal Family
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Transgender Swimmer Secures Five Gold Medals at U.S. Masters Championship
Prince Harry: “I Want Reconciliation with My Family”
Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has now been officially labeled “right-wing extremist” by the federal office for the so-called “protection of the constitution.”
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Transformative Changes in Women's Wrestling: The Rise of WWE Superstars
The Rush to the White Gold: Global Investment Surge in Natural Hydrogen Exploration
This is a day in Spain without electricity and internet
Reform UK Surprises in British Elections, Challenging Traditional Two-Party System
180-Year-Old Christian University in South Carolina Announces Closure Due to Unmet $6 Million Fundraising Goal
Brazilian Woman Jailed for Fourteen Years for Writing “You Lost, Idiot” on Statue During Protest
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Dutch Politician Eva Vlaardingerbroek Receives Spyware Threat Alert from Apple
Paramount Board Considers Settlement in Trump’s $20 Billion Lawsuit Over "60 Minutes" Interview
U.S. Economy Shrink in Trump’s First Quarter as Tariff Policy Raises Questions
Deadline Looms for RTS Meter Replacement: Hundreds of Thousands at Risk of Heating Disruption
Sweden Grapples with Deadly Gun Violence: Suspect Arrested After Three Young Men Killed in Uppsala Hair Salon
Walz Reveals Why Harris Chose Him as Her Running Mate and Reflects on Democratic Losses
Spain Restores Power After Unprecedented Nationwide Blackout
Carney Secures Liberal Mandate in Canada’s Federal Election
Death Penalty Sought as Luigi Manion Pleads Not Guilty in CEO Murder Case
President Trump contacts Jeff Bezos after reports of Amazon considering listing tariff surcharges; company clarifies no such plan for main platform
Spain and Portugal Recover from Massive Blackout
Liverpool Clinches Record-Equalling 20th English League Title Under Arne Slot
Singapore Politicians Warn Against Foreign Interference in Election
×