Elon Musk isn’t even the boss yet, but Twitter employees already have reason to shudder. On Thursday, news broke that the mega-troll billionaire may slash the company’s headcount by nearly 75 percent—assuming his takeover actually goes through.
Twitter staffers, already weary from six months of nonstop upheaval, are preparing for the worst.
“We heard terrible stories about Tesla, so we’re worried about, under Elon’s leadership, what’s going to happen,” one Twitter employee told The Daily Beast, speaking under the condition of anonymity.
She added: “It’s something I, as a Twitter employee, think about every day.”
Another current staffer said that he and his peers are trying not to react rashly, given the ever-changing status of the Elon deal. “Everybody is just playing the waiting game, seeing what's going to happen,” he said.
In his corner of the business, the employee continued, people are mostly focused on meeting their quarterly goals and aren’t openly panicking. He plans to continue working at Twitter—at least if the choice is his. “I love working here,” he said.
Musk agreed to buy the business back in April, at the marijuana-themed price of $54.20 per share, or roughly $44 billion. But just three months later, he backed out, alleging that the company had misled him and other investors about the volume of spam and fake accounts on the platform.
Twitter didn’t appreciate that reversal and opted to sue Musk in the Delaware Court of Chancery. (The billionaire filed a countersuit of his own). A trial was slated to start this month, but Musk unexpectedly announced that he wanted to complete the deal at the original price. A judge gave the parties until Oct. 28 to consummate the transaction. If they fail, the matter will likely head to trial in November.
In Thursday’s Washington Post report on the possible mass layoffs, a former Twitter higher-up called the proposal “unimaginable” and said it would weaken defenses against hacking and “offensive material such as child pornography.” The report also noted that job cuts are likely whether or not the buyout happens, and a company lawyer told the staff he did not have confirmation of Musk’s plans.
Twitter and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.