Elon Musk beginning layoffs at Twitter

SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk is beginning the expected layoffs at Twitter, a week after he closed a deal on the social media giant.

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The New York Times and The Washington Post, citing an email sent to workers, said that Musk will begin his overhaul of Twitter on Friday by reducing the company’s workforce of 7,500 employees.

“Team, in an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path, we will go through the difficult process of reducing our global workforce on Friday,” the email to workers said. “We recognize that this will impact a number of individuals who have made valuable contributions to Twitter, but this action is unfortunately necessary to ensure the company’s success moving forward.”

Workers were told to go home and not return to the company’s offices on Friday while cuts were being made, the Times reported. The email came from a generic address and was signed “Twitter.”

According to the Post, the email told workers that by 9 a.m. PDT on Friday, they would receive a second email with the subject line, “Your Role at Twitter.”

Workers keeping their jobs would be notified on their company email, the Post reported. Those losing them would learn their fates through their personal emails.

The number of employees who could be laid off was not revealed, but CNBC reported on Wednesday that employees were expecting a 50% reduction in the workforce.

Musk, 51, took control at Twitter on Oct. 27 as his $44 billion deal to buy the company closed, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He immediately fired several top executives at Twitter after taking over, terminating Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s chief executive; Ned Segal, the chief financial officer; Vijaya Gadde, the top legal and policy executive; and Sean Edgett, the general counsel.

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