Elon Musk Remarks on Twitter’s Pre-Layoff Operations: “Many Employees Engaged in Low-Value Tasks
Elon Musk Criticizes Twitter’s Pre-Layoff Operations, Emphasizes Value Optimization
During the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit in London, Elon Musk shared his perspective on Twitter’s workforce before the mass layoffs were implemented, stating that the company had “a lot of people doing things that didn’t seem to have a lot of value.” While acknowledging that this trend might exist in many Silicon Valley firms to some extent, Musk highlighted Twitter’s unique situation, where meetings often involved one person pushing forward while the rest were holding back, hindering progress.
Musk’s comments align with the ongoing discussion surrounding the phenomenon of “fake work” in the tech industry, with critics arguing that companies overhired and assigned unnecessary roles as a form of vanity metric. This trend is believed to have contributed to the recent wave of job cuts across various tech giants. Musk suggested that other major tech companies could also make reductions without negatively impacting productivity.
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Currently, Musk revealed that Twitter has approximately 1,500 employees, a figure he deemed reasonable. However, insider sources familiar with the company previously stated that the actual number of full-time staff is closer to 1,000, significantly fewer than the 7,500 employees the company had at the end of 2021.
Since Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in late 2022, he has undertaken extensive workforce reductions to streamline operations and cut costs. Almost half of the employees were laid off shortly after Musk assumed control of the company, and additional terminations, layoffs, and resignations have occurred in subsequent months. Some high-ranking executives and critics of Musk’s leadership were among those let go.
Remaining employees have been asked to align with Musk’s vision for “Twitter 2.0,” necessitating long hours, high intensity, and unwavering commitment to the company to avoid potential layoffs. Musk has prioritized retaining workers who excel in their roles, hold critical positions, and prioritize the company’s interests over their own.
However, as Twitter moves toward achieving positive cash flow, it appears that the company is planning to increase its headcount once again. Musk expressed optimism about potentially achieving cash flow positivity in the coming month and mentioned that the hiring process had already begun.
Musk also indicated his intention to rehire some of the employees who were let go earlier in his tenure, expressing his desire to bring back talented individuals who were impacted by the initial workforce reductions.
