Elon Musk has tweeted about cutting the pay of Twitter’s board directors, which he claims could save the company $3 million.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal attempted to calm employee rage at a company-wide meeting on Friday, as staff demanded answers on how managers intended to handle an expected mass departure caused by Elon Musk.
The discussion comes after Musk, the Tesla CEO who signed a $44 billion agreement to purchase Twitter, repeatedly chastised Twitter’s content moderation processes and a key official in charge of establishing speech and safety policy.
During the internal town hall meeting, which Reuters attended, officials stated that the business will track worker attrition on a daily basis, but that it was too early to determine how the buyout deal with Musk would effect staff retention. According to people familiar with the subject, Musk has lobbied financiers on reducing board and executive compensation, but the specific cost cutbacks remain unknown. According to one insider, Musk will not make job-cut decisions until he owns Twitter.
“I’m sick of hearing about shareholder value and fiduciary responsibility. What are your honest feelings concerning the extremely high possibility that many staff will be out of work if the sale is completed?” In a question read aloud at the meeting, one Twitter employee questioned Agrawal.
Agrawal said that Twitter has always cared for its employees and would continue to do so in the future.
“I hope the next Twitter organisation will continue to care about the world and its consumers,” he stated.
During the discussion, executives stated that the staff turnover rate has not altered since the news of Musk’s interest in purchasing the firm broke.
Musk has recently posted criticism of Twitter’s senior lawyer, Vijaya Gadde, who is a Twitter veteran and well-known in Silicon Valley. Musk’s assault sparked a flood of online hatred directed towards her.
Employees reportedly expressed concern to executives that Musk’s unpredictable behaviour may destabilise Twitter’s business and harm its financial prospects as the firm prepares to confront the advertising industry in a presentation next week in New York City.
“Do we have a near-term strategy for dealing with advertisers removing investment?”
one employee inquired. Twitter’s chief customer officer, Sarah Personette, said the company was attempting to interact more regularly with advertisers and reassure them that “the way we support our clients is not changing.”
Following the meeting, a Twitter employee told Reuters that there was little faith in what management said.
“The PR jargon isn’t sinking in. They instructed us not to leak and to do a good job, but there is no obvious incentive for workers to do so,” the employee told Reuters, stressing that non-executive salary is now capped as a result of the agreement.
According to research firm Equilar, Agrawal would collect $42 million if he were fired within 12 months of a change in management at the social media giant. During the discussion, Agrawal advised employees to expect change in the future under new leadership, and he admitted that the firm should have done better throughout the years.
“Yes, there were things we could have done differently and better.” I had the option of doing things differently. “I think about it a lot,” he said. Twitter declined to speak further.
