Billionaire Elon Musk has reportedly come up with a new twist in the Twitter sale saga. According to a report published in the Washington Post, Musk plans to fire nearly 75% of the social media company’s workforce, once he takes over. The report cites the source of this information as some interviews and documents accessed by them.
According to the report, Musk has already told investors about his plan to fire these employees, most likely in the coming months. It even mentions that he plans to cut Twitter’s employee base of 7,500 workers, leaving the company with a skeleton crew.
It must be noted that the report clarifies that job cuts are expected in Twitter regardless of the sale or who buys it. As per an AP report, San Francisco-based Twitter and a representative for Musk attorney Alex Spiro did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The AP report even quotes Wedbush analyst Dan Ives: “A 75 per cent headcount cut would indicate, at least out of the gates, stronger free cash flow and profitability, which would be attractive to investors looking to get in on the deal. That said, you can't cut your way to growth."
The Washington Post reported that Human Resources (HR) staff at Twitter told employees that they were not planning any mass layoffs. However, the documents accessed reportedly show that extensive plans to lay off staff and cut down on infrastructures costs were on the cards, even before Elon Musk proposed to buy Twitter.
While Musk has not bought Twitter till now, talks are on as he recently said again that he is willing to buy the social media giant on the original terms.
