Elon Musk
(Picture: AP)Elon Musk has given employees a Thursday evening deadline to decide whether they want to be part of a “breakthrough Twitter 2.0” – but warned staff they would need to be “extremely hardcore” to remain part of the company.
The billionaire, who took the reins at the company last month, wrote to employees on Wednesday to warn them that they would need to work “long hours at a high intensity” to ensure the firm’s success.
Musk already fired much of Twitter’s full-time workforce in a brutal email on November 4, with a number of senior leaders responsible for cybersecurity and regulation also departing in the past fortnight.
Threatening further job losses, he told staff in a memo on Wednesday: “Going forward, to build a breakthrough Twitter 2.0 and succeed in an increasingly competitive world, we will need to be extremely hardcore.
“This will mean working long hours at high intensity. Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade.”
In the memo, initially obtained by The Washington Post, Musk goes on to outline how the social media platform will be “much more engineering-driven” and that “those writing great code will constitute the majority of our team and have the greatest sway”.
He adds: “If you are sure that you want to be part of the new Twitter, please click yes on the link below,” directing staff to a link with an online form.
Staff who do not respond to the ultimatum by 5pm ET will receive three months severance pay, he says.
“Whatever decision you make,” Musk writes, “thank you for your efforts to make Twitter successful.”
Musk sparked fury earlier this month after announcing that Twitter users wishing to retain or acquire a blue-check “verification” label would need to pay $8 a month.
The billionaire, who also heads up Space X and Tesla, said in a tweet that the relaunch would take place later this month in an effort to make sure the service is “rock solid."
Earlier this month, Musk told employees that remote working is “no longer allowed” and that staff would need to be in the office at least 40 hours per week.
He also told employees that if "you do not show up at the office, resignation accepted," according to a transcript of a meeting reported by The Verge.
The Standard has contacted Twitter for comment.
