Musk completed his takeover on Monday
Twitter staff have reportedly been told they only have guaranteed job security for the next months following Elon Musk‘s whirlwind takeover of the company.
In an emergency meeting held around 5pm ET on Monday, CEO Parag Agrawal and chair of the board Bret Taylor addressed numerous staff questions, according to two insiders at the meeting who spoke to the New York Times.
Agrawal accepted that “it’s important to acknowledge that all of you have many different feelings about what is happening” and that staff are “likely processing what [this takeover] means for [them] and Twitter’s future”.
Moreover, Bloomberg reported that some of the most immediate concerns were regarding potential job losses, both in the short and long term, at which point employees were assured the business will continue to operate as normal until the deal closes in the next six months.
Yashar Ali, who claims to have spoken with a source inside the company, said that as well as questions re: working from home – which had become a permanent employment option – stock options and employment protection measures were noted.
3. Understandably lots of questions about what this sale will mean for employee stock options/grants.
Someone asks if any employee protection measures were negotiated as part of this deal.
Another person asks if this means there will be a hiring freeze until the deal closes.
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) April 25, 2022
The CEO reportedly went on to reassure employees that their stock grants, which can make up a large part of compensation, will continue to vest in the meantime, with Taylor also explaining the board’s fiduciary duty to those invested, adding that the board as they know it will no longer exist after the deal is finalised.
As Ali goes on to quote, staff reportedly asked whether other investors could come in to bid against Musk and vie for control – a process that is not thought to be in place at present – and how a serious deal came together so quickly.
5. Another Twitter employee asks: “how did we go from poison pill to this so quickly?”
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) April 25, 2022
Issuing his first statement following the purchase last night, Musk spoke of the “tremendous potential” of the platform, insisting that he believes “free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated”.
While he has committed to removing bots, it would seem that many are now concerned as to whether Musk’s leadership will allow for more other problematic voices and content to continue circulating on the site under his minimal moderation outlook.
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