Business

Elon Musk plans to cut up to half of Twitter workforce

L’Oréal suspends advertising on the platform, while ad group Interpublic advises its clients to ‘pause’ spending

Significant job losses are expected at Twitter before the end of the week as its new owner continues his clear-out. Photograph: Constanza Hevia / AFP via Getty Images

Hannah Murphy
James Fontanella-Khan
Thu Nov 3 2022 - 07:49

Elon Musk has drawn up plans to fire as much as half of Twitter’s 7,500-strong workforce, according to people familiar with the matter, in a major cost-cutting overhaul that could come by the end of the week.

The billionaire is looking to cut around 3,700 jobs at Twitter after his $44 billion (€45.08 billion) buyout of the social media company, two people said, although the exact figure could change.

He also aims to mandate in-office work from Monday, reversing Twitter’s current policy, which allows staffers to work from anywhere, one of the sources said.

The job losses are expected to take place on Friday, if not sooner. News of the plans was first reported by Bloomberg. Twitter could not be reached for comment.

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Mr Musk has already stamped his mark on Twitter since closing the acquisition a week ago, asking staffers to work around the clock on select projects.

[ Opinion: Elon Musk’s ownership of Twitter makes a bad situation worse ]

[ Cantillon: Twitter won’t be a ‘hellscape’, Musk promises advertisers. They’re not so sure ]

On Wednesday, Mr Musk announced one such project: Twitter plans to offer a premium $8 a month subscription service that will verify users, boost the visibility of their posts and allow them to see fewer advertisements.

He has also set in motion plans to significantly reduce headcount, after previously saying he could cut jobs and costs to make Twitter “healthy”.

At the end of last week, he overhauled the management team, firing executives including Twitter chief Parag Agrawal. He brought in a small group of trusted advisers, including his personal lawyer Alex Spiro and venture capitalist David Sacks, to help him assess how to run the company.

Over the weekend, Mr Musk asked some managers and advisers to pull together lists of whom to sack, according to people familiar with the matter, while several other leaders in the business, such as chief commercial officer Sarah Personette, announced their resignations.

The cost-cutting measures come as Mr Musk faces concerns from advertisers, the source of a majority of Twitter’s revenues, who worry that his plans to loosen content moderation rules on the platform will lead to a rise in inappropriate content.

L’Oréal has decided to suspend advertising on the platform, while Interpublic, one of the world’s largest ad groups, recommended its clients pause spending on Twitter for the next week, according to advice first reported by Morning Brew.

In one email sent to a media agency this week and seen by the Financial Times, Twitter asked brands to “bear with us as we move through this transition”, adding that it had not changed its content moderation policies and sought to be “warm and welcoming to all”.

In a call on Wednesday with top advertising spenders on Twitter, Mr Musk told brands he planned to offer different tiers of content moderation, similar to a film rating system, according to three people familiar with the conversation. He also reassured those on the call he had no plans to do away with content moderation roles at the company.

However, Mr Musk also appeared to dismiss marketers’ concerns on Wednesday, tweeting a poll that asked if advertisers should support free speech or political “correctness”. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2022

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