Elon Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter in late October, and his first order of business was to fire half of the workforce, about 3,500 employees. These sacked employees were expected to receive severance but it appears they are still waiting for the same.
Last year on November 4, Musk fired half of the employees across different teams and regions, and the firing continued for several weeks. Out of these 3,500 employees, 1,000 were posted in California, as per the documents filed with the state.
Twitter, in accordance with state and federal laws, is required to pay employees in the state of California regular paychecks after the termination for the last two months. This 60-day period ended on January 4, 2023, marking the official termination of California employees. However, these employees note that they are yet to receive any formal severance offer or separation agreement.
Elon Musk, at the time, tweeted that all the employees sacked were “offered 3 months of severance.”
Sacked Twitter employees await severance as Musk scrambles to cut costs
A former Twitter employee told CNN that they were expecting to receive information about the severance by Wednesday, i.e., January 4, the last date of employment fired in the first round of sacking. But, the employee says that the company has not shared any document related to severance.
Shannon Liss-Riordan, the attorney representing hundreds of sacked Twitter employees, said in a statement that her clients who were laid off in early November had to receive any information about the severance pay as of today (November 6 IST).
“Yesterday was the official separation date for thousands of Twitter employees, and after months of chaos and uncertainty created by Elon Musk, these workers remain in the lurch,” Liss-Riordan said in a statement on Thursday.
“There was some anticipation that they [letters] would be sent yesterday, but we haven’t seen that,” said Kevin Ready, the spokesperson.
Liss-Riordan has filed four proposed class action lawsuits against Twitter on behalf of the former employees affected by layoffs, claiming that Twitter backtracked on promises of remote work and severance benefits, as well as complaints related to alleged disability and gender-based discrimination.
Further, lawsuits have been filed against the company for failing to pay bills.
Musk is working to reduce expenses at the company he recently acquired for $44 billion, including a significant amount of debt, by laying off half of the employees and requiring those who remain to sign a commitment to “hardcore” work.
According to a report by The New York Times last month, Twitter had internally discussed not providing severance pay to laid-off employees to further save on costs, causing uncertainty among affected workers.
Fortune, citing an unnamed source, reported that Twitter had planned to send severance agreements to fired employees on Thursday, January 5. As per the agreement, laid-off employees would have received a month’s base pay, with a provision requiring them to waive their participation in pending lawsuits against the company.
Twitter, which also fired its entire public relation department back in the mass layoffs, did not comment on the inquiries. Neither Musk has said anything on the matter so far.
Last year on November 4, Musk fired half of the employees across different teams and regions, and the firing continued for several weeks. Out of these 3,500 employees, 1,000 were posted in California, as per the documents filed with the state.
Twitter, in accordance with state and federal laws, is required to pay employees in the state of California regular paychecks after the termination for the last two months. This 60-day period ended on January 4, 2023, marking the official termination of California employees. However, these employees note that they are yet to receive any formal severance offer or separation agreement.
Elon Musk, at the time, tweeted that all the employees sacked were “offered 3 months of severance.”
Sacked Twitter employees await severance as Musk scrambles to cut costs
A former Twitter employee told CNN that they were expecting to receive information about the severance by Wednesday, i.e., January 4, the last date of employment fired in the first round of sacking. But, the employee says that the company has not shared any document related to severance.
Shannon Liss-Riordan, the attorney representing hundreds of sacked Twitter employees, said in a statement that her clients who were laid off in early November had to receive any information about the severance pay as of today (November 6 IST).
“Yesterday was the official separation date for thousands of Twitter employees, and after months of chaos and uncertainty created by Elon Musk, these workers remain in the lurch,” Liss-Riordan said in a statement on Thursday.
“There was some anticipation that they [letters] would be sent yesterday, but we haven’t seen that,” said Kevin Ready, the spokesperson.
Liss-Riordan has filed four proposed class action lawsuits against Twitter on behalf of the former employees affected by layoffs, claiming that Twitter backtracked on promises of remote work and severance benefits, as well as complaints related to alleged disability and gender-based discrimination.
Further, lawsuits have been filed against the company for failing to pay bills.
Musk is working to reduce expenses at the company he recently acquired for $44 billion, including a significant amount of debt, by laying off half of the employees and requiring those who remain to sign a commitment to “hardcore” work.
According to a report by The New York Times last month, Twitter had internally discussed not providing severance pay to laid-off employees to further save on costs, causing uncertainty among affected workers.
Fortune, citing an unnamed source, reported that Twitter had planned to send severance agreements to fired employees on Thursday, January 5. As per the agreement, laid-off employees would have received a month’s base pay, with a provision requiring them to waive their participation in pending lawsuits against the company.
Twitter, which also fired its entire public relation department back in the mass layoffs, did not comment on the inquiries. Neither Musk has said anything on the matter so far.
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