Elon Musk reportedly threatened to fire Twitter employees unless they agreed to put in “long hours at high intensity.”
The new owner of the social media company advised employees to accept the promise in an email if they wished to remain, according to the Washington Post.
According to Mr. Musk, those who don’t sign up by Thursday will receive three months’ worth of severance money.
The Guardian was also given access to Mr. Musk’s communication to the team in which he stated that Twitter “would need to be pretty hardline” to thrive.
“This will mean working long hours at high intensity. Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade,” he said.
Workers were told that they needed to click on a link by 17:00 EST on Thursday, if they want to be “part of the new Twitter”.
He added: “Whatever decision you make, thank you for your efforts to make Twitter successful.”
The most wealthy guy in the world, who recently purchased Twitter for $44 billion (£38.7 billion), has already indicated that half of the company’s workforce will be laid off.
Due to the company’s daily loss of $4 million (£3.51 million), Mr. Musk claimed he had “no choice” but to make the changes. He has attributed a “huge loss in revenue” to “activist groups lobbying advertising.”
Elon Musk sent an email to Staff about building “Twitter 2.0” asking them to commit to “working long hours at high intensity” and confirming that they want to be part of the new Twitter or part ways with the company with three months of severance. pic.twitter.com/WvyfA8xvrS
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 16, 2022
Following his purchase of the business, other senior Twitter executives have also left their positions.
According to sources, the entrepreneur told Twitter employees last week that remote work will end and that “tough times” lay ahead.
The proprietor of the social media company informed staff through email that employees can plan to spend at least 40 hours each week at the workplace.
There was “no way to sugar-coat the reality,” Mr. Musk continued, that the weakening global economy would affect Twitter’s ad sales.
However, tech investor Sarah Kunst claimed that Mr. Musk’s takeover had left Twitter with debt, which is the underlying cause of the company’s problems.
Some marketers have halted their spending as a result of his behavior since the takeover, she claimed.
She claimed that “he is now trying to inflict that pain and uncertainty on the employees.”
The extent to which Mr. Musk’s email to colleagues regarding hours was actually enforceable was also in doubt, she continued.
“Can you just send an email to staff who already work for you and just unilaterally change their working contract? That remains to be seen.”
