Current:Home > ContactElon Musk gives Twitter employees an ultimatum: Stay or go by tomorrow -Intelligent Capital Compass
Elon Musk gives Twitter employees an ultimatum: Stay or go by tomorrow
View
Date:2025-04-18 08:38:14
New owner Elon Musk has told remaining Twitter employees they will need to decide by Thursday afternoon whether to stay at the company or quit.
In an email to staff entitled "A Fork in the Road," Musk said Twitter would "need to be extremely hardcore" to succeed. Those who choose to stay should expect long, intense hours of work. Those who leave will receive three months' severance pay, he wrote.
In the ultimatum, first reported by The Washington Post, Musk wrote that he values engineers over designers, project managers and other staff in what he envisions will be "a software and servers company."
The combative message is the latest sign of escalating tensions inside Twitter, a company that has been beset by chaos and confusion since the billionaire's $44 billion takeover in October.
Musk immediately fired top executives. Since then, he's laid off about half of the staff, or roughly 3,700 employees, and fired others after they publicly criticized him. People who held key roles in divisions including content moderation, cybersecurity and legal compliance have resigned.
Musk has claimed his shakeup is part of an effort to make Twitter more profitable, something that has long been a struggle for the platform. He also says the company needs to move away from advertising and derive most of its revenue from other sources, like Twitter Blue, the now-paused service that was revamped under Musk and had a tumultuous premiere.
One issue hanging over the company: its financial outlook now that it is newly saddled with debt.
Musk borrowed $13 billion to buy Twitter in a purchase widely seen as overpriced.
Ad sales, which make up nearly all of its revenue, have dropped as advertisers take a wait-and-see approach to both the broader economy and Musk's leadership of Twitter.
Meanwhile, Twitter is estimated to have a $1 billion debt service payment on the debt Musk secured to complete his takeover, and the company's ability to make that payment has been in question.
Musk has even floated the possibility of possible bankruptcy, which would allow Twitter to restructure its debt, but remains unclear how serious Musk was about that threat.
NPR's Bobby Allyn contributed to this story.
veryGood! (7897)
Related
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- News helicopter crashes in New Jersey, killing pilot and photographer, TV station says
- Why Kristin Cavallari Says She Cut Her Narcissist Dad Out of Her Life
- Nature groups go to court in Greece over a strategic gas terminal backed by the European Union
- Euphoria's Hunter Schafer Says Ex Dominic Fike Cheated on Her Before Breakup
- Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka confronted by a fan on the field at Chelsea
- Drilling under Pennsylvania’s ‘Gasland’ town has been banned since 2010. It’s coming back.
- Pablo Picasso: Different perspectives on the cubist's life and art
- A Georgia governor’s latest work after politics: a children’s book on his cats ‘Veto’ and ‘Bill’
- Neighbors describe frantic effort to enter burning Arizona home where 5 kids died: Screaming at the tops of our lungs
Ranking
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Deep flaws in FDA oversight of medical devices — and patient harm — exposed in lawsuits and records
- American consumers are feeling much more confident as holiday shopping season peaks
- Soccer star Dani Alves’ trial for alleged sexual assault to start in February
- Southern California rocked by series of earthquakes: Is a bigger one brewing?
- Separatist leader in Pakistan appears before cameras and says he has surrendered with 70 followers
- EU claims a migration deal breakthrough after years of talks
- Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton are spending New Year's Eve separately. Here's why.
Recommendation
Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
Worried About Safety, a Small West Texas Town Challenges Planned Cross-Border Pipeline
Fewer drops in the bucket: Salvation Army chapters report Red Kettle donation declines
Southwest will pay a $140 million fine for its meltdown during the 2022 holidays
Matt Damon remembers pal Robin Williams: 'He was a very deep, deep river'
Here's why your North Face and Supreme gifts might not arrive by Christmas Day
Did you know 'Hook' was once a musical? Now you can hear the movie's long-lost songs
23-year-old Miami GOP activist accused joining Proud Boys in Jan. 6 riots