The Ar-Musk-geddon begins: Twitter employees hit with mass layoffs conducted over email

It’s Elon Musk’s world now, and unfortunately, no Twitter employee is safe.

On Thursday, the social media company’s 7,500 workers received a companywide email notifying them that layoffs were set to begin, according to a copy of the message seen by The New York Times.

Staffers were told to stay home and not go to the offices on Friday as cuts occurred.

“In an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path, we will go through the difficult process of reducing our global work force,” the email reads, as reported by The Times.

“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.”

The email came from a generic address and didn’t provide specifics about the total number of layoffs.

The Times says Twitter began notifying some employees that they had been laid off on Friday morning.

“Just lost access to my Twitter email and Slack. This is all so unreal,” tweeted Morgan Bell, now a former Twitter project manager, at 12:52 am.

She has since locked her account, so it can’t be viewed by the public.

@livelovegeek/Twitter

Another employee who was cut tweeted in the wee hours of the morning to express gratitude to her team.

“It’s official. I’m a free bird,” tweeted Caroline Bergin, who worked for the learning and development team at Twitter. “So PROUD of all the things this Learning team achieved.”

It’s official. I’m a free bird. So PROUD of all the things this Learning team achieved. The crazy talent and heart it takes to design, build and deliver programs like FlightSchool, Developing@, Managing@ and Leading@. This team = culture. #loveWhereYouWorked #OneTeam #Grateful https://t.co/Ubyh8OBIlN

— Caroline Bergin (@caroline_bergin) November 4, 2022

Dublin, which has been home to the company’s European headquarters since 2014, also woke up to job cuts.

“Woke up to the sad news that I’m no longer a Tweep,” tweeted Gareth Field, former EMEA comms at Twitter.

Woke up to the sad news that I’m no longer a Tweep.

I loved every single moment working on the global @TwitterComms team, collaborating with and learning from an outstanding group of talented people.

Thank you to everyone who made it so special. #OneTeam #LoveWhereYouWorked

— Gareth Field (@GField17) November 4, 2022

Class action lawsuit against Twitter

Some former employees are not taking the layoffs lying down.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Twitter by five employees so far, reported Bloomberg.

The case says one employee was fired on November 1, while the other three weren’t informed but had been locked out of their email accounts.

The lawsuit cites the similarities with layoffs at Musk’s Tesla. The company found a loophole under the WARN Act that frees them of any obligations to the laid-off employee by offering severance of one or two weeks’ pay.

“Plaintiffs here are reasonably concerned that, absent court intervention, Twitter will engage in similar behaviour and seek releases from laid-off employees without informing them of their rights or the pendency of this case,” the filing stated, according to The Guardian. 

An employment attorney advised Twitter workers of the WARN Act, and the safety it’s supposed to provide to those who have been laid off.

“[California’s] ‘WARN’ law requires Twitter to give you 60 days notice of a massive layoff. A layoff of 50+ employees within a 30 day period qualifies. I know you didn’t get that notice,” she tweeted.

Hey Twitter employees getting laid off tomorrow! IMPORTANT INFO from a CA employment attorney (me):

CA’s “WARN” law requires Twitter to give you 60 days notice of a massive layoff.

A layoff of 50+ employees within a 30 day period qualifies.

I know you didn’t get that notice.

— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 4, 2022

This Ar-Musk-geddon begins just over a week after Musk officially acquired Twitter for $44 billion.