Report: Elon Musk planning to lay off 75% of Twitter’s workforce

A major layoff is reportedly on the horizon for Twitter, as Elon Musk moves closer to finalizing his $44 billion acquisition of the social media giant.

According to The Washington Post, the billionaire and CEO of Tesla is planning to cut Twitter’s workforce by 75 per cent in the coming months.

The move would reduce the company’s global headcount from approximately 7,500 employees to just over 2,000. It’s unclear at this time how many staff members at Twitter Canada could be affected.

“Although [other investors and I] are obviously overpaying for Twitter, the long-term potential for Twitter in my view is in an order of magnitude greater than its current value,” Musk said during Tesla’s third quarter earnings conference call on Oct. 19.

The report comes as several North American tech companies, including Microsoft, Meta, Shopify, Snap, and Hootsuite, have significantly reduced their workforces as they continue to monitor market conditions.

According to TIME, Twitter employees are circulating an open letter — protesting Musk’s plan to fire around three-quarters of the company once he takes control.

However, Twitter said in an email to employees on Oct. 20 that there aren’t plans for a companywide layoff at this time.

SEE ALSO
• Report: Top Twitter execs fired ‘for cause’ to avoid severance payouts
• Elon Musk to Tesla Employees: ‘Come back or get out’
• Employment lawyer on mass layoffs in the tech industry
• Layoffs in Canada

Termination agreements for Twitter employees

In Canada, non-unionized employees at Twitter are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing or corporate restructuring.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

LEARN MORE
• Severance for technology industry employees
• Severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance packages in mass layoffs

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains why you are still owed severance if you have been downsized on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper severance if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you don’t receive the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.