Hundreds of Twitter staff expected to resign in wake of Elon Musk’s brutal ultimatum
Hundreds of Twitter employees are expected to resign in the wake of Elon Musk’s brutal recent ultimatum demanding longer and more “hardcore” hours.
Elon Musk has issued a sassy response to the chaos enveloping Twitter today
The billionare was savaged in a projected message onto the Twitter HQ in San Fransisco after hundreds of furious employees are expected to resign in the wake of a savage email from new boss demanding they put in longer and more intense hours.
The ABC reports that a poll on the workplace app Blind revealed that 42 per cent of workers surveyed were now planning to quit, while almost 40 employees indicated plans to leave on a private chat on Signal, and around 360 people had joined a new Slack channel for Twitter workers titled “voluntary-lay-off”.
Dozens of workers from across the globe have also taken to the Twitter platform to announce their resignation.
In response to the chaos Musk took to Twitter and posted a skull and crossbones flag emoji.
“And … we just hit another all-time high in Twitter usage lol,” he said. “Let that sink in …”
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The drastic backlash followed an email sent by Musk to workers on Wednesday, which stated: “Going forward, to build a breakthrough Twitter 2.0 and succeed in an increasingly competitive world, we will need to be extremely hardcore”.
As part of the backlash, it appears somebody has projected a message onto the Twitter HQ in San Fransisco.
It lists a string of insults against Musk — calling him a “space Karen” and a “cruel hoarder” among other jibes.
Twitter hq getting shut down might have something to do with this. 😳pic.twitter.com/puVnISV5RO
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) November 18, 2022
In the now-infamous email, workers were told to click “yes” if they planned to stay, and those that failed to respond by close of business were considered by management to have resigned, and would be offered a severance package.
The email came less than two weeks after Musk laid off half of Twitter’s workforce, or around 3700 employees, as well as many contract workers.
The ABC also reports that Twitter informed employees it would shut its offices and cut badge access until Monday.
What I’m hearing from Twitter employees; It looks like roughly 75% of the remaining 3,700ish Twitter employees have not opted to stay after the “hardcore†email.
— Kylie Robison (@kyliebytes) November 17, 2022
Even though the deadline has passed, everyone still has access to their systems.
However, despite the controversial ultimatum, Musk did backflip on his ban on working from home in a second email sent on Thursday, after more workers than expected chose to walk away.
“All that is required for approval (to work from home) is that your manager takes responsibility for ensuring that you are making an excellent contribution,” Musk wrote of the backflip, adding that workers would only be required to attend in-person meetings with colleagues at least once per month.
He had previously announced an end to remote work, demanding that staff needed to be in the office for at least 40 hours per week – and that if “you do not show up at the office, resignation accepted”.
But he U-turn wasn’t enough to mollify the team, and the mass exodus is reportedly now so significant it could potentially threaten Twitter’s entire operation.
It is understood there were desperate attempts to keep staff on board behind the scenes once management realised the magnitude of the problem – which were ultimately futile.
‘Please comply’ and don’t come back until Monday
A leaked photo of a message to Twitter staff has confirmed the company’s office buildings will be temporarily closed.
A message leaked to the BBC on Friday told workers its offices would be closed, effective immediately, until Monday, November 21.
And … we just hit another all-time high in Twitter usage lol
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 18, 2022
The message, sent amid the latest reports of mass resignations in response to Musk’s decree to work “long hours at high intensity”, did not give any reason for the closures.
It asked the remaining staff to stick to company policy and not talk to the press.
“Please continue to comply with company policy by refraining from discussing confidential company information on social media, with the press or elsewhere,” it read.
The best people are staying, so I’m not super worried
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 18, 2022
Despite what seems to be an unravelling at Twitter HQ, Musk the platform’s usage was at an “all-time high”.
“We just hit another all-time high in Twitter usage lol,” he tweeted.
“Let that sink in.”
Workers allegedly fired ‘illegally’
It comes as eight former SpaceX workers are coming after Elon Musk after they claimed they were “illegally” fired for publicly criticising the billionaire and the company’s work culture.
The group said they were sacked in June after organising an open letter – which was then signed by more than 400 workers – in which they condemned SpaceX CEO Musk’s online behaviour.
In the open letter, they also urged the company to beef-up its “zero-tolerance policies” after sexual harassment allegations emerged against the CEO. Musk denied the allegations.
“Elon’s behaviour in the public sphere is a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us, particularly in recent weeks,” the letter said, claiming the company was failing to adhere to its own policies and urging SpaceX to “publicly address and condemn Elon’s harmful Twitter behaviour”, which included “inappropriate, disparaging, sexually charged comments”.
The employees claim the letter was later branded an “extremist act” by a SpaceX executive before they were let go, which the employees allege was in retaliation.
They have since filed unfair labour practice charges with the US National Labour Relations Board, according to The New York Times.
Under US law, firms cannot take action against staff who participate in collective action regarding work conditions, whether as part of a union or not.
So far, neither SpaceX nor Musk have responded to the recent escalation.
However, it comes amid Musk’s aggressive firing spree in Twitter since taking over the social media platform in late October for $US44 billion ($A66 million).
After taking over the platform, Musk immediately fired Twitter’s chief executive Parag Agrawal and chief financial officer Ned Segal, as well as head of legal policy, trust and safety Vijaya Gadde, who was the person behind the decision to permanently ban former US president Donald Trump from the platform in the wake of the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
Since then, a slew of other senior managers have also been stood down or resigned, with the New York Times reporting that managers were ordered to prepare lists of high and low-performing team members.
In fact, around half of the workforce has been sacked in recent weeks in an apparent bid to cut costs, with Musk also making headlines this week after delivering a harsh ultimatum to remaining staff, demanding in an email that they go “hardcore” and revel in working long hours, or leave the tech firm.
If staff don’t agree to the onerous new conditions within 48 hours, the company will assume they want to depart and will start redundancy proceedings, with the demands sparking widespread condemnation.
Musk’s Twitter takeover has been a chaotic one, with users and advertisers fleeing the platform in droves in recent weeks, leading many to brand the unfolding situation as the “perfect storm” of conditions which could seriously curtail Twitter’s future, which was already in doubt given it hasn’t turned a profit since 2017, with Musk himself warning it could soon go bankrupt.
And it all adds up to a far less appealing platform for everyday users as well, leading The Verge’s Elizabeth Lopatto to warn of a potential “death spiral” ahead.
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