New Twitter CEO Elon Musk issued an ultimatum to all the employees of the social media platform – commit to his "hardcore" vision of Twitter or leave.
In an email, the South Africa-born tech bigwig wrote that the website "will need to be extremely hardcore. This will mean working long hours at high intensity. Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade."
"If you are sure that you want to be part of the new Twitter, please click yes on the link below," Musk's email stated. Moreover, employees were also made to "sign a pledge" to stay on and work for the company. The Twitter CEO gave a deadline of Nov. 17, 5 p.m. Eastern time, for employees to sign.
Those who refuse to sign or are unable to do so will be terminated from the company. They will not leave empty-handed, however, as they will also be given three months of severance pay.
"Those writing great code will constitute the majority of our team and have the greatest sway," according to Musk.
The ultimatum followed an earlier email by Musk demanding that all Twitter employees return to the office immediately. The Nov. 9 email, which warned of "difficult times ahead," officially signaled the end of remote working unless he personally approved of it.
"The road ahead is arduous and will require intense work to succeed," Musk told employees in the Nov. 9 email. To this end, he mandated employees to report for at least 40 hours per week. Musk's policy mirrored that of his two other companies, Tesla and SpaceX, which prohibited employees from working remotely.
In addition, he told employees that he plans to make subscriptions – via the Twitter Blue service – comprise half of the company's revenue. Users who avail of Twitter Blue can have a verified blue-check badge beside their name and other perks for a flat subscription fee of $7.99 per month.
Musk cleaning house inside Twitter with multiple employee firings
Musk's role as CEO followed his $44 billion purchase of the company. During his first week as "Chief Twit," he laid off about 3,700 employees – half of the company's workforce – to cut costs. (Related: Elon Musk changes course, now says he plans to go through with Twitter purchase.)
The cost-cutting measures followed advertisers pausing their campaigns on Twitter due to concerns about content moderation on the platform. Musk acknowledged the move by advertisers as responsible for a "massive drop in revenue."
The terminations were not limited to rank-and-file employees, as several Twitter executives also found themselves out of a job in the social media company. Musk's predecessor Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal, Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde and General Counsel Sean Edgett were among those shown the door.
Agrawal made waves with his remarks delivered during his tenure as Twitter CEO, where he said that the company co-founded by his predecessor Jack Dorsey was "not to be bound by the First Amendment." Gadde, meanwhile, played a huge role in the permanent banning of former President Donald Trump on Twitter.
In one instance, a Twitter engineer who publicly disagreed with Musk found himself out of a job.
Eric Frohnhofer, an engineer working on Twitter's Android app, challenged the new CEO's assertion that the app was "super slow." He expounded possible solutions for the issue in a series of tweets, which went unacknowledged.
One user asked Frohnhoefer why the engineer did not give Musk feedback in private. "Maybe he should ask questions privately. Perhaps he could use Slack or email," said the engineer, who had been with Twitter for eight years before his termination.
Musk later announced Frohnhoefer's termination from the company.
Platformer's Casey Newton also reported that other employees who criticized Musk in official Slack channels were being fired. "'We regret to inform you that your employment is terminated immediately,' they're being told over email. 'Your recent behavior has violated company policy.'"
More news about Twitter can be found at DorseyWatch.com.
Watch this Fox News report about Elon Musk's termination of Parag Agrawal and other Twitter executives.
This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
Corrupt Twitter employees secretly sold blue verification badges for upwards of $15K, Musk confirms.
New Twitter CEO Elon Musk considering reversing lifetime ban on several people including Trump.
Musk wastes no time, fires top Twitter execs most responsible for banning conservatives.
HIT THE ROAD: Musk fires top Twitter execs on his first day at the helm of tech giant.
Social media giant Twitter announces layoffs amid snags in Elon Musk deal.
Sources include:
Please contact us for more information.