{"id":68109,"date":"2022-11-05T03:53:05","date_gmt":"2022-11-05T03:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/11\/05\/twitter-musk-defends-deep-cuts-to-companys-workforce\/"},"modified":"2022-11-05T03:53:05","modified_gmt":"2022-11-05T03:53:05","slug":"twitter-musk-defends-deep-cuts-to-companys-workforce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/11\/05\/twitter-musk-defends-deep-cuts-to-companys-workforce\/","title":{"rendered":"Twitter: Musk defends deep cuts to\u00a0company’s workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk has defended the layoff of around half of the company’s workforce, saying he has “no choice” as Twitter is losing more than $4million (\u00a33.5million) a day.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A tweet from Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of security and integrity, referred to “roughly 50% cuts across the organization.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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However, Mr Musk said the social media giant’s commitment to content moderation was “absolutely unchanged”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr Musk, the richest man in the world, took over Twitter for $44 billion (\u00a338.7 billion).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The billionaire insisted in his own tweet <\/a>that all those who lose their jobs were offered a three-month severance package, “that’s 50% more than the law requires”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As reports surfaced on Friday that thousands of Twitter employees around the world were losing their jobs, questions were raised about the future of employees responsible for cleaning up harmful materials.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Online safety groups and activists have suggested Mr Musk could relax moderation guidelines and reverse permanent Twitter bans against controversial figures – including former President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Those concerns were fueled by Mr Musk’s comments on Friday, which attempted to blame Twitter’s “massive drop in revenue” on “activist groups” who were “trying to destroy free speech in America”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But that of Mr. Roth tweet thread<\/a>released later in the day confirmed that most of the more than 2,000 content moderators working on the “front-line review” were unaffected.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He said the “reduction in violence” affected about 15% of employees in Twitter’s trust and safety organization — compared to a 50% cut across the company.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr Roth added that tackling misinformation during the US midterm elections is a “top priority”. Most Americans will vote for Joe Biden’s presidency in a key test on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The president voiced his concerns about the acquisition on Friday, saying, “Elon Musk goes out and buys an outfit that broadcasts \u2014 that spits out lies around the world… How can we expect kids to understand what’s at stake?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As the scale of the job cuts became clear, messages from Twitter to officials in California showed that around 983 employees were laid off in that US state alone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It affects 784 employees in San Francisco, 106 in San Jose and 93 in Los Angeles, according to files viewed by the BBC.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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  • Elon Musk Says $8 Monthly Fee for Twitter Blue Tick<\/li>\n
  • Will Donald Trump return to Twitter?<\/li>\n
  • How the richest person in the world bought Twitter<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    An internal email sent to employees on Friday said the mass downsizing was “unfortunately necessary to ensure the continued success of the company.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Employees confirmed on Twitter that they had been signed out of work laptops and Slack, a messaging system.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Many employees announced they had been eliminated from posts on the platform, painting a picture of cuts spanning the globe, hitting departments ranging from marketing to engineering.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    This included employees from the areas of communication, content maintenance and product development.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    A team focused on researching Twitter’s use of algorithms — a topic that was a priority for Mr Musk — has also been fired, according to a tweet from a former senior executive at the company. But that was later denied. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Almost all of Twitter’s revenue currently comes from advertising, and Volkswagen is among the brands that stopped spending money on it since Mr. Musk bought Twitter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “We are monitoring the situation closely and will decide on the next steps depending on how things develop,” said Europe’s largest carmaker.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    On Thursday, food maker General Mills, which owns brands like Cheerios and Lucky Charms, did the same.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    It said it continues to monitor Twitter’s “realignment” and wants to “evaluate.” [its] marketing expenses\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Other brands that have halted paid activity on the platform include car giants General Motors and Audi, and pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Mr. Musk has been exploring ways to cut costs and monetize the platform in a variety of ways, including plans to charge a monthly subscription fee for users to be verified on the platform.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    He also suggested that those paying the $8-a-month fee would boost their tweets in replies, mentions, and searches, which some people on Twitter criticized for creating a two-tier system that would benefit those who are willing to pay.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Twitter employees filed a class-action lawsuit Thursday, arguing that the company was cutting large jobs without serving a 60-day notice in violation of federal and California law.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n