Twitter employees in panic mode, beg Elon Musk to let them keep their jobs. Here’s the open letter
Daniel Levi
Posted On October 25, 2022
Just last week, we reported that Twitter employees could be in for bad news after reports that Elon Musk was planning to lay off nearly 75 percent of Twitter’s 7,500 workers. Now, it appears their worst fear has been confirmed. Musk would complete the takeover of the social giant this week or face the resumption of a lawsuit in a Delaware court.
Knowing they only have three left to make their voices heard, an unknown number of Twitter employees have sent an open letter to Tesla CEO Elon Musk pleading that they are allowed to keep all their jobs, according to an exclusive report from Times.
On Monday, Times received a draft open letter that has not yet been published. The letter reads:
“Elon Musk’s plan to lay off 75% of Twitter workers will hurt Twitter’s ability to serve the public conversation. A threat of this magnitude is reckless, undermines our users’ and customers’ trust in our platform, and is a transparent act of worker intimidation.”
According to the letter, Twitter employees demand that Musk commits to preserving Twitter’s current headcount if his takeover of the company goes through. The letter goes on to demand that he does not discriminate against employees based on their political beliefs and that he commits to “fair” severance policies and more communication about working conditions. “We demand to be treated with dignity, and to not be treated as mere pawns in a game played by billionaires,” the list of demands says.
“It was unclear how many Twitter employees had signed the letter at the time of publication,” Times reported. “Signatures will not be made public unless we have critical mass,” said a note sent to prospective signatories.
Meanwhile, a Delaware Chancery Court judge ruled that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has until October 28 to complete his acquisition of Twitter if he wants to avoid a trial, granting Musk a slight reprieve.
The ruling came a few days after Musk shocked the world when he announced he was ready to proceed with the $44 billion takeover deal to end all litigation in order to close the deal.
On April 25, Twitter agreed to sell the company to Elon Musk for $44 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Twitter stockholders will receive $54.20 in cash for each share of Twitter common stock that they own upon closing the proposed transaction.
The purchase price represents a 38% premium to Twitter’s closing stock price on April 1, 2022, which was the last trading day before Mr. Musk disclosed his approximately 9% stake in Twitter. Musk needed to use his Tesla stock to raise $21 billion in equity to fund his takeover of the social media giant.
You can read the full letter below.
The full text of the open letter
Staff, Elon Musk, and Board of Directors:
We, the undersigned Twitter workers, believe the public conversation is in jeopardy.
Elon Musk’s plan to lay off 75% of Twitter workers will hurt Twitter’s ability to serve the public conversation. A threat of this magnitude is reckless, undermines our users’ and customers’ trust in our platform, and is a transparent act of worker intimidation.
Twitter has significant effects on societies and communities across the globe. As we speak, Twitter is helping to uplift independent journalism in Ukraine and Iran, as well as powering social movements around the world.
A threat to workers at Twitter is a threat to Twitter’s future. These threats have an impact on us as workers and demonstrate a fundamental disconnect with the realities of operating Twitter. They threaten our livelihoods, access to essential healthcare, and the ability for visa holders to stay in the country they work in. We cannot do our work in an environment of constant harassment and threats. Without our work, there is no Twitter.
We, the workers at Twitter, will not be intimidated. We recommit to supporting the communities, organizations, and businesses who rely on Twitter. We will not stop serving the public conversation.
We call on Twitter management and Elon Musk to cease these negligent layoff threats. As workers, we deserve concrete commitments so we can continue to preserve the integrity of our platform.
We demand of current and future leadership:
Respect: We demand leadership to respect the platform and the workers who maintain it by committing to preserving the current headcount.
Safety: We demand that leadership does not discriminate against workers on the basis of their race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or political beliefs. We also demand safety for workers on visas, who will be forced to leave the country they work in if they are laid off.
Protection: We demand Elon Musk explicitly commit to preserve our benefits, those both listed in the merger agreement and not (e.g. remote work). We demand leadership to establish and ensure fair severance policies for all workers before and after any change in ownership.
Dignity: We demand transparent, prompt and thoughtful communication around our working conditions. We demand to be treated with dignity, and to not be treated as mere pawns in a game played by billionaires.
Sincerely,
Twitter workers
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