Elon Musk has taken control of Twitter in the last week, removing some of the most powerful executives right after he walked through the front door, proclaiming that he was “Chief Twit.” He has since reportedly ordered a company-wide reduction in staff.
Twitter employs around 7500 people. It's unclear what percentage of them have been given the dismissal; however, the report suggests that it was to begin immediately. Musk has repeatedly stated that he plans to turn the company into a profitable business through reducing staff. Before he joined the company, reports suggested that Musk had told investors it was possible to lay off up to 75 percent of his employees. Then he was reported to have informed employees that it wouldn't be the same.
The report stated that employees are fired right away because layoffs occur within the month of November. 1. Employees would be awarded “stock grants as part of their compensation.”
The top executives he has already dismissed — including the head of finance, chief of legal and the general counsel were reported to have been dismissed “for cause,” which means that they won't receive the million-dollar compensation that they'd receive in the severance.
Twitter's filings for securities show that top executives have the right to receive the equivalent of a year's salary as well as the accelerated vesting of some of their unvested stock awards if they're fired for any reason not based on the cause within a year of the company changing ownership.
Parag Agrawal, the former CEO who has repeatedly fought with Musk about the amount of Twitter users Twitter has reported, is leaving his post with a salary of $42 million after serving as CEO for under a year.
The former chief lawyer of Twitter, Vijaya Gadde, who earned $17 million in 2021, was crying in April when Musk's proposed takeover became public. Gadde was scheduled to receive a $12.5 million payment, Insider said.
Not only is he cleaning house, but he's also holding people accountable for the terrible way they've handled the property and it could not occur to a more worthy group of people. Be prepared for lawsuits as these people will likely get angry and try to get their severance payments. But they're out and more will follow them.
