Employees of a leading social media platform are asking for guarantees ahead of a highly anticipated acquisition by the world’s richest man. Here’s what Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) employees want.
What Happened: With Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk saying funding is secured and a buyout of Twitter planned for this week, some employees at the social media company are speaking out.
Comments from Twitter employees came as reports surfaced that Musk could cut the company’s workforce by 75%. The plan called for Twitter’s workforce to go from 7,500 employees to 2,000.
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A drafted letter by Twitter employees was seen by TIME, who shared details of what the employees were asking for.
“A threat of this magnitude is reckless, undermines our users’ and customers’ trust in our platform, and is a transparent act of worker intimidation,” the letter said.
The letter said a plan to lay off 75% of workers could hurt “Twitter’s ability to serve the public conversation.”
Items that were demanded in the drafted letter include keeping employee levels the same for Twitter, not discriminating against employees over political beliefs, fair severance policies and communication about working conditions.
“We demand to be treated with dignity, and to not be treated as mere pawns in a game played by billionaires.”
The letter pointed to journalism efforts in Ukraine and Iran and social movements around the world being helped by Twitter.
“A threat to workers at Twitter is a threat to Twitter’s future. We cannot do our work in an environment of constant harassment and threats. Without our work, there is no Twitter.”
The key bullet points of the letter were: respect, safety, protection and dignity.
The drafted letter did not state how many Twitter employees would sign it and did not provide any signatures, instead it was signed, “Twitter workers.”
Related Link: Do Fired Tesla Employees Love Or Hate Elon Musk?
Why It’s Important: Layoffs at Twitter was a major subject of employees during a town hall with Musk earlier this year after the acquisition was announced.
“If someone is getting useful things done, that’s great. If they’re not, then I’m like, ‘why are they at the company?’” Musk said.
Musk has been an opponent of remote workers, once telling Tesla employees that if they wanted to work from home, they could pretend to work somewhere else.
In the same town hall, Musk told Twitter employees that if they are exceptional at their job, they should be allowed to work remotely.
Musk didn’t hold back on the need for job cuts when asked if there would be layoffs: “The company does need to get healthy. Right now the costs exceed the revenue.”
Musk told Twitter employees that if they were “significant contributors” to the company they had nothing to worry about.
With a $44 billion buyout price from Musk and his past comments on costs, it seems likely Musk could cut jobs after the deal goes through.
TWTR Price Action: Twitter shares traded at $53.30 on Wednesday at publication. This was versus a takeover price of $54.20.
Read more about the possibility of Musk selling additional Tesla shares to finance the Twitter deal.
