CONSTRUCTING THEIR OWN GUILLOTINES
Twitter staff have been told to work 84-hour weeks and managers slept at the office over the weekend as they scramble to meet Elon Musk's tight deadlines, reports say
gdean@insider.com (Grace Dean) - TODAY
Twitter managers have told some staff work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, CNBC reported.
Some managers told The New York Times they slept at Twitter's office on Friday and Saturday nights.
Staff are trying to prove themselves amid the looming threat of layoffs under new owner Elon Musk.
Staff at Twitter have been clocking up much longer hours than usual since Elon Musk took over, CNBC reported. This comes as staff face the looming threat of layoffs amid the tech mogul's planned overhaul of the company.
Twitter managers have told some staff to work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week — equivalent to 84 hours a week — to meet Musk's deadlines, CNBC reported, citing internal communications.
Musk's $44 billion purchase of the social-media platform went through on Thursday evening, but concerns about layoffs at the company have been swirling since well before that. It remains unclear how many staff will be laid off and when, as well as which teams will be most affected.
Since Friday, staff at the company have been set tasks which some see as a test by Musk's team to see who works hard.
Insider previously reported that Musk's team assigned some of Twitter's engineers coding projects to work on over the weekend, known as sprints. Other tasks include making major changes to Twitter's verification service.
Insider previously reported that an internal message was sent to Twitter staff working on changes to the company's verification process telling them that: "The expectation is literally to work 24/7 to get this out."
CNBC reported that staff haven't been told whether they'll get overtime pay, time off in lieu, or job security for working on the assignments.
Staff worry that their careers at Twitter could be over if they don't complete their tasks by the early November deadlines, CNBC reported.
Twitter's managers, meanwhile, have been asked to carry out performance reviews and send Musk's team lists of which employees should be kept on, people familiar with the discussions told Insider.
But the managers themselves are also feeling the strain, with some telling The New York Times that they slept at Twitter's office on Friday and Saturday nights.
Twitter's top managers were pulled into meetings with Musk and his team last week at Twitter's San Francisco headquarters, where they were asked to describe their division's work, two people involved in the meetings told The Times.
Some Twitter managers told the publication that they felt like they were being assessed.
The Washington Post reported that Musk's team plans to cut around a quarter of Twitter's staff in a first round of layoffs, citing a person familiar with discussions that took place at Twitter HQ last week.
Twitter didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on working hours, staff sleeping at the office, and layoffs.
Musk dissolved Twitter's board of directors, a Monday SEC filing shows, cementing his position as Twitter's sole director.
gdean@insider.com (Grace Dean) - TODAY
Twitter managers have told some staff work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, CNBC reported.
Some managers told The New York Times they slept at Twitter's office on Friday and Saturday nights.
Staff are trying to prove themselves amid the looming threat of layoffs under new owner Elon Musk.
Staff at Twitter have been clocking up much longer hours than usual since Elon Musk took over, CNBC reported. This comes as staff face the looming threat of layoffs amid the tech mogul's planned overhaul of the company.
Twitter managers have told some staff to work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week — equivalent to 84 hours a week — to meet Musk's deadlines, CNBC reported, citing internal communications.
Musk's $44 billion purchase of the social-media platform went through on Thursday evening, but concerns about layoffs at the company have been swirling since well before that. It remains unclear how many staff will be laid off and when, as well as which teams will be most affected.
Since Friday, staff at the company have been set tasks which some see as a test by Musk's team to see who works hard.
Insider previously reported that Musk's team assigned some of Twitter's engineers coding projects to work on over the weekend, known as sprints. Other tasks include making major changes to Twitter's verification service.
Related video: Elon Musk Orders Managers To Prepare List For Job Cuts After Completing Twitter Deal | English News
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Insider previously reported that an internal message was sent to Twitter staff working on changes to the company's verification process telling them that: "The expectation is literally to work 24/7 to get this out."
CNBC reported that staff haven't been told whether they'll get overtime pay, time off in lieu, or job security for working on the assignments.
Staff worry that their careers at Twitter could be over if they don't complete their tasks by the early November deadlines, CNBC reported.
Twitter's managers, meanwhile, have been asked to carry out performance reviews and send Musk's team lists of which employees should be kept on, people familiar with the discussions told Insider.
But the managers themselves are also feeling the strain, with some telling The New York Times that they slept at Twitter's office on Friday and Saturday nights.
Twitter's top managers were pulled into meetings with Musk and his team last week at Twitter's San Francisco headquarters, where they were asked to describe their division's work, two people involved in the meetings told The Times.
Some Twitter managers told the publication that they felt like they were being assessed.
The Washington Post reported that Musk's team plans to cut around a quarter of Twitter's staff in a first round of layoffs, citing a person familiar with discussions that took place at Twitter HQ last week.
Twitter didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on working hours, staff sleeping at the office, and layoffs.
Musk dissolved Twitter's board of directors, a Monday SEC filing shows, cementing his position as Twitter's sole director.
Elizabeth Dwoskin, Faiz Siddiqui - Yesterday
Musk’s inner circle worked through weekend to cement Twitter layoff plans© Amy Osborne for The Washington Post
SAN FRANCISCO — Members of billionaire Elon Musk’s inner circle huddled with Twitter’s remaining senior executives throughout the weekend, conducting detailed discussions regarding the site’s approach to content moderation and spam, as well as plans to lay off 25 percent of the workforce to start.
Alex Spiro, a well-known celebrity lawyer who has represented Musk for several years, led those conversations. Spiro is taking an active role in managing several teams at Twitter, including legal, government relations, policy and marketing, according to four people familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe them, as well as tweets from some of the people involved.
Longtime Musk associates David Sacks and Jason Calacanis appeared in a company directory over the weekend, according to photos obtained by The Washington Post. Both had official company emails, and their titles were “staff software engineer.” Musk’s title in the directory was CEO, although that position had not been publicly announced. He refers to himself as “Chief Twit.”
A document filed with financial regulators Monday showed Twitter’s board had been dismissed, another step leaving the company in Musk’s sole control.
Later Monday, a financial filing officially revealed that Musk is CEO of the company.
Elon Musk's ownership of Twitter begins
Meanwhile, the team was deciding on what is expected to be a first round of layoffs, which will target roughly a quarter of the staff totaling more than 7,000, according to one of the people. Layoffs will touch almost all departments, and are expected to specifically impact sales, product, engineering, legal, and trust and safety in the coming days, the person said. After engineers, some of Twitter’s highest-paid employees work in sales, where several earn more than $300,000, according to documents viewed by The Post.
Twitter, Musk, Spiro, Sacks and Calacanis did not respond to requests for comment.
The billionaire Tesla owner bought Twitter for $44 billion last week after several strenuous months of negotiations and legal wrangling. Musk first made a bid for the company in the spring, then tried to back out months later. Twitter sued to force him to complete the deal, and eventually the entrepreneur acquiesced and offered to buy the company for his original offer price.
Musk has turned to several longtime allies as he begins his overhaul of Twitter. Members of Musk’s team were in New York City, where Twitter has a corporate office, taking meetings on Monday, according to social media posts.
Sacks, a conservative firebrand and donor, has worked with Musk from their days running PayPal together two decades ago. Sacks has posted strong ideas about content moderation online and has criticized censorship from Big Tech.
Calacanis is also a longtime Musk friend who texted him frequently to offer advice on the deal, including about job cuts, court records showed.Documents detail plans to gut Twitter’s workforce
Calacanis tweeted that Saturday was “Day Zero” alongside a photo of a Twitter coffee mug, adding that he had discussed safety issues, along with bots and trolls, with Yoel Roth, a Twitter executive responsible for content moderation policy. Roth then posted details about those policies.
On Sunday, Musk posted apparent internal messages from Roth about Twitter metrics, arguing they show Twitter’s board and lawyers “deliberately hid … evidence from the court.” The tweet showed Musk using his newly gained access to internal information to potentially settle scores.
The new leadership team is asking questions about every aspect of the business, including details of content moderation, spam and the risks of upcoming elections, the people said. They also discussed identity verification on the platform, including verifying high profile users with blue check marks, according to a Musk tweet and the people.
Another Musk associate who tweeted about his involvement, Sriram Krishnan, a partner focusing on cryptocurrency at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, also tweeted he was helping out with the deal. The firm invested $400 million. He describes himself as a former Twitter executive on his LinkedIn page.
On Monday, a financial filing revealed Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey — the company’s former CEO — rolled over his Twitter shares into the new company, making him one of Musk’s investors.
Less than three days into Musk’s ownership, Twitter employees remained in the dark about any new plans for the company as of Sunday evening, according to numerous employees contacted by The Post, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their jobs. The company has yet to release a formal announcement of the acquisition. The communications department has gone silent. Rumors have swirled about layoffs, with some notices going out quietly.Twitter layoffs are imminent
Layoffs are expected to begin ahead of Nov. 1, when Twitter employees are slated to receive additional compensation related to stock grants. On Sunday, Musk tweeted that reporting about impending layoffs at Twitter next week was “false.”
Earlier this year, Musk told prospective partners in the deal that he planned to cut nearly 75 percent of Twitter’s total workforce, which would leave the company with about 2,000 employees, according to interviews and documents obtained by The Post. Musk last week told employees when he visited Twitter’s headquarters that he didn’t plan to cut three-fourths of the workforce.
Another person familiar with the deal who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters last week said the total number of layoffs is likely to be closer to 50 percent.
Already, Musk has fired four senior executives, sent Tesla engineers to evaluate Twitter’s software code, and has tweeted that he plans to form a content moderation council of experts.
Meanwhile, illustrating the difficulties of his new task, Musk tweeted out content from a site that is known to publish misinformation this weekend.
On Saturday, Hillary Clinton, the former first lady and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, posted a tweet criticizing the GOP for spreading “hate and deranged conspiracy theories” that she said had emboldened the man who attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, inside the couple’s home in San Francisco early Friday.
Musk wrote, in a reply to the tweet, that “There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye,” sharing a link to an article in the Santa Monica Observer, a site described by fact-checkers as a low-credibility source favoring the extreme right. The article alleges, without evidence, that Paul Pelosi was drunk and in a fight with a male prostitute, referencing a conspiracy theory that had previously been spread on the right. Other right-wing influencers who Musk has interacted with online also amplified the conspiratorial narrative.
The actions by Musk, who has since removed the tweet, show that Twitter has a complicated path ahead, particularly in navigating Musk’s public actions and squaring that with what he says privately.
Rachel Lerman contributed to this report.
Fired Twitter Execs Face A Long, Ugly Battle With Elon Musk Warns Expert
Chris Davies - TODAY
Elon Musk hasn't just cleaned house at Twitter, but taken a scorched-earth approach. Less than a week has passed since his $44 billion deal to purchase the social network closed, and already Musk has ousted top execs -- including Twitter's former CEO, Parag Agrawal -- and installed himself as new chief executive. The big question is, with Twitter going private, has Musk also opened himself up to legal backlash?
Elon Musk© Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
According to a report from The New York Times, Musk has not only shown Twitter's former C-suite the door, but is claiming that the terminations were "for cause," too. If that's upheld, it could shield the Tesla CEO from millions in so-called golden parachute payments that Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal, former general counsel Sean Edgett, and former top policy and legal exec Vijaya Gadde would otherwise be contractually due.
It's a big bill if Musk has to pay up: anywhere up to $60 million, according to reports. On the flip side, dragging out that liability through the courts could also be costly. SlashGear spoke to a legal expert to figure out just what Musk's game-plan might be.
There's No Law Against Firing Your Board
Elon Musk twitter profile© mundissima/Shutterstock
"This all boils down to a contract dispute," attorney Ron Zambrano, the employment litigation chair at Los Angeles-based West Coast Trial Lawyers, told SlashGear. "Are the fired executives entitled to their severances under their respective contracts because the contention by Musk that they were fired for cause is either made in bad faith or completely baseless? Or did these executives do things that could be viewed as violating their employment contracts? If they did, then Musk would have grounds to fire them for cause."
What isn't good reason to contest Musk's decision, however, is his new strategy for Twitter. While ousting the whole board and assuming total control himself might seem extreme -- not to mention give Tesla shareholders some legitimate concerns that the chief executive's attentions are divided, albeit with potential benefits there too -- it's actually not grounds for a lawsuit.
"Based on news reports, the motivation behind these terminations of employment is Musk's desire to replace the leadership at the highest executive levels with folks that he wants in those roles," Zambrano explains. "This motivation is lawful."
What Legal Experts Say Elon Musk Should Do Next
Judge with gavel© Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock
The question, then, is just what might make for a compelling case? As Zambrano tells it, the only real justifications for a lawsuit from the former Twitter execs would be if it could be proved Musk singled them out because of protected class -- including race, gender, or national origin -- or if they'd been targeted as whistleblowers or similar. "Barring those exceptions," the attorney says, "these folks have not suffered a violation of their employment rights and it all comes back to what's in their contracts."
It won't only be contracts that are being examined with a fine-toothed comb, however. Asked what he'd be recommending Elon Musk do next, Zambrano says the big thing is digging through whatever the former C-suite has left behind that could count against the execs. It's from that evidence that a "for cause" dismissal case could be built.
"Musk and his team should start scouring internal Twitter communications and activity to support a for cause finding for terminating the executives he has fired," Zambrano says he'd advise Musk, were the new Twitter owner his client. "If there are in fact admissions and evidence by these affected employees that should have led to their involuntary exit beforehand, that would totally bolster his defense to any claim that firing these executives for cause was done in bad faith."
Even An Expensive Lawsuit Is Small Change, Comparatively
Elon Musk smiling© Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images
While litigation is seldom inexpensive, it may not be the dissuading factor to drag the former Twitter execs through the courtroom that you might think. In fact, Zambrano says, Musk's costs for that -- even if considerable by normal lawsuit standards -- would still likely only amount to a fraction of what the golden parachute payouts would reach.
"In a worst-case scenario, Musk may be looking at a $1 million legal tab," Zambrano suggests. "Strategically, Musk will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to reduce what he has surely been told is the money these employees are probably owed in payouts. He can drag this out in the courts for so long the fired executives will eventually compromise just to get it over with and receive some money."
While the Twitter purchase may have been completed relatively quickly, with Musk rapidly stepping in -- complete with a sink in his arms -- to seize control at the social media company, a lawsuit with the former execs would be a far longer affair. In fact, Zambrano predicts, it could stretch from three to five years following appellate review. In the end, it may all come down to who has the most patience.
Read this next: Everything We Know About Elon Musk's Hyperloop Concept
Chris Davies - TODAY
Elon Musk hasn't just cleaned house at Twitter, but taken a scorched-earth approach. Less than a week has passed since his $44 billion deal to purchase the social network closed, and already Musk has ousted top execs -- including Twitter's former CEO, Parag Agrawal -- and installed himself as new chief executive. The big question is, with Twitter going private, has Musk also opened himself up to legal backlash?
Elon Musk© Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
According to a report from The New York Times, Musk has not only shown Twitter's former C-suite the door, but is claiming that the terminations were "for cause," too. If that's upheld, it could shield the Tesla CEO from millions in so-called golden parachute payments that Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal, former general counsel Sean Edgett, and former top policy and legal exec Vijaya Gadde would otherwise be contractually due.
It's a big bill if Musk has to pay up: anywhere up to $60 million, according to reports. On the flip side, dragging out that liability through the courts could also be costly. SlashGear spoke to a legal expert to figure out just what Musk's game-plan might be.
There's No Law Against Firing Your Board
Elon Musk twitter profile© mundissima/Shutterstock
"This all boils down to a contract dispute," attorney Ron Zambrano, the employment litigation chair at Los Angeles-based West Coast Trial Lawyers, told SlashGear. "Are the fired executives entitled to their severances under their respective contracts because the contention by Musk that they were fired for cause is either made in bad faith or completely baseless? Or did these executives do things that could be viewed as violating their employment contracts? If they did, then Musk would have grounds to fire them for cause."
What isn't good reason to contest Musk's decision, however, is his new strategy for Twitter. While ousting the whole board and assuming total control himself might seem extreme -- not to mention give Tesla shareholders some legitimate concerns that the chief executive's attentions are divided, albeit with potential benefits there too -- it's actually not grounds for a lawsuit.
"Based on news reports, the motivation behind these terminations of employment is Musk's desire to replace the leadership at the highest executive levels with folks that he wants in those roles," Zambrano explains. "This motivation is lawful."
What Legal Experts Say Elon Musk Should Do Next
Judge with gavel© Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock
The question, then, is just what might make for a compelling case? As Zambrano tells it, the only real justifications for a lawsuit from the former Twitter execs would be if it could be proved Musk singled them out because of protected class -- including race, gender, or national origin -- or if they'd been targeted as whistleblowers or similar. "Barring those exceptions," the attorney says, "these folks have not suffered a violation of their employment rights and it all comes back to what's in their contracts."
It won't only be contracts that are being examined with a fine-toothed comb, however. Asked what he'd be recommending Elon Musk do next, Zambrano says the big thing is digging through whatever the former C-suite has left behind that could count against the execs. It's from that evidence that a "for cause" dismissal case could be built.
"Musk and his team should start scouring internal Twitter communications and activity to support a for cause finding for terminating the executives he has fired," Zambrano says he'd advise Musk, were the new Twitter owner his client. "If there are in fact admissions and evidence by these affected employees that should have led to their involuntary exit beforehand, that would totally bolster his defense to any claim that firing these executives for cause was done in bad faith."
Even An Expensive Lawsuit Is Small Change, Comparatively
Elon Musk smiling© Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images
While litigation is seldom inexpensive, it may not be the dissuading factor to drag the former Twitter execs through the courtroom that you might think. In fact, Zambrano says, Musk's costs for that -- even if considerable by normal lawsuit standards -- would still likely only amount to a fraction of what the golden parachute payouts would reach.
"In a worst-case scenario, Musk may be looking at a $1 million legal tab," Zambrano suggests. "Strategically, Musk will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to reduce what he has surely been told is the money these employees are probably owed in payouts. He can drag this out in the courts for so long the fired executives will eventually compromise just to get it over with and receive some money."
While the Twitter purchase may have been completed relatively quickly, with Musk rapidly stepping in -- complete with a sink in his arms -- to seize control at the social media company, a lawsuit with the former execs would be a far longer affair. In fact, Zambrano predicts, it could stretch from three to five years following appellate review. In the end, it may all come down to who has the most patience.
Read this next: Everything We Know About Elon Musk's Hyperloop Concept
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