Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Mar 28, 2023

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.
Comments

Oh ya 139 days ago
All the lefties crying about losing the gravy train but could care less about the company losing 4 million a day. Because Elon is not a libtard. Lets see what they say today when facebook starts it huge layoffs

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
Close
0:00
0:00
AOC explains why she opposes banning TikTok
I have a dream, MLK inspiring speech
UK: Humza Yousaf replaces Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and first minister in Scotland
Aretha Franklin, Marvis Staples - Oh Happy Day
In a dramatic U-turn against His Government: Judicial Reform Legislation Must Be Halted, Says Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
BVI Freedom Song
Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel Corporation, died at 94
Billy Preston - You Can't Beat God Giving (Live)
Powell: Silicon Valley Bank was an 'outlier'
VIRGIN ISLANDS REGGAE CARIBBEAN RIDDIMZ
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
Oh Happy Day Edwin Hawkins - Anthony Brown w FBCG Combined Choir
NYPD is setting up barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court ahead of Trump arrest.
'Stand by Me' performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
National Anthem of the British Virgin Islands - Oh, Beautiful Virgin
Home Secretary Suella Braverman tours potential migrant housing in Rwanda as asylum deal remains mired in legal challenges
Hello Dolly
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
for KING & COUNTRY - Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae & The WRLDFMS Tony Wi
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
Yes He Can
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
Jeremy Hunt insists his Budget will get young parents and over-50s back into work
Unforgettable
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
Touch The Hem Of His Garment
Nashville police officer, and a female driver shooting one another
The Lord's Prayer
TRUMP: "Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III."
THE GOD MOVEMENT...BEAUTIFUL BVI
Mexican President Claims Mexico is Safer than the U.S.
Siyahamba
A brief banking situation report
Ray Charles And The Voices Of Jubilaton, Oh, Happy Day
Lady bites police officer and gets instantly reaction
Ramblin' Rose
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
Protoje - Who Knows ft. Chronixx
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
Pressure - Virgin Islands Nice
Good news: The U.S. government is now guaranteeing all deposits, held by, Silicon Valley Bank, and the funds are available as of today
Phil Wickham - House Of The Lord
Silicon Valley Bank exec was Lehman Brothers CFO
My God Is Real (Yes, God Is Real)
In a potential last-ditch effort, HSBC is considering a rescue deal to save Silicon Valley Bank UK from insolvency
The Lion King Circle of Life by LEBO M. — LIVE at the HAVASI Symphonic
BBC Director General, Tim Davie, has apologized, but not resigned, yet, following the disruption of sports programmes over the weekend
Louis Armstrong - When The Saints Go Marching In
A Mississippian man, who was once considered a “ticking time bomb,” has lost a whopping 165 kilograms! What motivated this incredible transformation?
Kanye West Sunday Service - hallelujah, salvation, and glory
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
Jonathan Nelson - I Believe (Island Medley
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
From The Virgin Islands Sqad Up
City officials in Berlin announced on Thursday that all swimmers at public pools will soon be allowed to swim topless
Common, John Legend - Glory
Fitness scam
Anthony Evans vs. Jesse Campbell - If I Ain't Got You
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
I have a dream, MLK inspiring speech
A primitive judge in Australia sparked outrage when he told a breastfeeding woman to leave his courtroom for being “a distraction"
Aretha Franklin, Marvis Staples - Oh Happy Day
Barcelona is feeling the heat as they face corruption charges over payments to former vice-president of Spain's referees' committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira
BVI Freedom Song
Senator Tom Cotton: If the Mexican Government Won’t Stop Cartels from Killing Americans, Then U.S. Government Should
Billy Preston - You Can't Beat God Giving (Live)
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
VIRGIN ISLANDS REGGAE CARIBBEAN RIDDIMZ
The unelected UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an immigrant himself, defends new controversial crackdown on illegal migration
Oh Happy Day Edwin Hawkins - Anthony Brown w FBCG Combined Choir
Old clip of Bill Gates saying Ukraine is a big, fat, corrupt sinkhole is going viral
'Stand by Me' performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir
Man’s penis amputated by mistake after he’s wrongly diagnosed with a tumour
National Anthem of the British Virgin Islands - Oh, Beautiful Virgin
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
Hello Dolly
JP Morgan Becomes First Bank to Predict UK Will Avoid Recession
for KING & COUNTRY - Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae & The WRLDFMS Tony Wi
JP Morgan Becomes First Bank to Predict UK Will Avoid Recession
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
How do stolen goods end up on Amazon, eBay and Facebook Marketplace?
Yes He Can
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
×