Elon Musk hints at layoffs in first meeting with Twitter employees
Image credit: The Daily Beast
In a meeting with Twitter employees, multibillionaire Elon Musk hinted at job layoffs if his $44 billion (£35.8 billion) buyout bid for the social media company is successful.
He also discussed the possibilities of extraterrestrial life, as well as remote working and freedom of speech.
Mr. Musk was meeting with employees for the first time since launching his bid for the company in April.
During a wide-ranging video call with Twitter employees on Thursday, Mr. Musk emphasised that layoffs will be determined by the company’s financial situation.
At the moment, the company’s health must be improved. At the moment, the costs exceed the earnings, “he explained.
He also stated that he likes to work from home unless “someone is unique.”
However, he did not provide an update on the acquisition talks, and Twitter employees on an internal communication channel expressed their discontent with his views on the firm and employee compensation.
Mr. Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, also spoke on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, though he added that he has yet to see “serious evidence for aliens.”
Separately, a number of employees at SpaceX, where Mr. Musk is CEO, wrote an internal letter to the company’s leadership on Thursday, calling Mr. Musk a “continuous source of distraction and embarrassment.”
Meanwhile, a Dogecoin cryptocurrency investor sued him for $258 billion (£209 billion) later that day, accusing him of running a pyramid scheme to inflate its price.
According to a complaint filed in New York, Mr Musk “used his position as the world’s richest man to oversee and choreograph the Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme for profit, exposure, and enjoyment.”
Mr. Musk threatened to pull out of the acquisition arrangement earlier this month, claiming that Twitter was “throttling” his requests for additional information about its user base.
In a letter to regulators, he claimed that he had the authority to measure spam accounts himself.
The letter formalised a controversy that had been festering for weeks after he stated the sale was “on hold” pending more information.
The company’s shares were trading at $37.36 at the close of New York trade on Thursday, well below Mr Musk’s offer price of $54.20….