As Elon Musk officially takes over Twitter, a letter indicates the social media giant’s employees are melting down over rumours he plans to lay off 75% of them.
TIME reported an anonymous letter from Twitter employees directed to Musk.
“We, the undersigned Twitter workers, believe the public conversation is in jeopardy,” they state.
“Elon Musk’s plan to lay off 75% of Twitter workers will hurt Twitter’s ability to serve the public conversation. A threat of this magnitude is reckless, undermines our users’ and customers’ trust in our platform, and is a transparent act of worker intimidation.”
Elon walked into headquarters on Wednesday carrying a sink. Later, he tweeted, “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” He also changed his Twitter bio to “Chief Twit.”
The employee letter says the “threats” of layoffs are hurtful to employees and Twitter itself.
“They threaten our livelihoods, access to essential healthcare, and the ability for visa holders to stay in the country they work in.”
“We, the workers at Twitter, will not be intimidated,” said the anonymous writers, who reportedly will only provide their names if enough co-workers do.
The letter demands that no one loses their job.
“We demand leadership to respect the platform and the workers who maintain it by committing to preserving the current headcount.”
Employees also demand fair severance packages if layoffs come, saying, “we demand to be treated with dignity, and to not be treated as mere pawns in a game played by billionaires.”
On Thursday, Musk tweeted a message to advertisers explaining he bought Twitter not for money but to support a “common digital town square.”
Twitter users hope Musk will allow for more free speech on the platform and less arbitrary bans, like that of Dr. Peter McCullough who frequently shares studies critical of the COVID-19 vaccines.
