Two days after Elon Musk gave Twitter employees an ultimatum to either commit to the company¡¯s new ¡°hardcore¡± work environment or leave, hundreds of employees have resigned. This has potentially put Twitter¡¯s operations at risk, according to people familiar with the matter.? ?
Amidst the chaos, Twitter has closed its offices until Monday, according to the company¡¯s memo,?as per a Bloomberg report. "Please continue to comply with company policy by refraining from discussing confidential information on social media, with the press, or elsewhere," the memo added.
In the final hours before his deadline, Elon Musk tried to convince people to stay. Key staff were brought into meetings as the Thursday evening deadline neared to hear pitches on Twitter¡¯s future, according to people familiar with the matter. Musk, who had earlier said he was strictly against?remote work, also sent a follow-up email yesterday softening his tone.
"All that is required for approval is that your manager take responsibility for ensuring that you are making an excellent contribution," Musk wrote, adding that staffers should have in-person meetings with their colleagues not less than once per month.
But this wasn¡¯t enough, as Twitter¡¯s internal communications channels filled with employees offering a salute emoji, which has become a symbol for departing the company. Former staff tweeted the salute publicly, too, along with their internal Slack messages, the report mentioned.?
Some employees who were departing speculated that so many were leaving, along with their knowledge of how the product works, that Twitter may have trouble fixing problems or updating systems during its normal operations.
The world¡¯s richest person, Elon Musk, had asked employees on Wednesday to formally state whether they were willing to keep working at the company, a commitment that would include "working long hours at high intensity." Employees had until 5 p.m. Eastern time Thursday to fill out the form.
The?form included just one possible response: "Yes." Anyone who failed to accept the form by the deadline was told they would be out of the company with three months' severance.
The ultimatum from Musk had come less than two weeks after he fired 50% of Twitter¡¯s workforce, i.e., about 3,700 employees. Twitter also recently fired 4,400 contract workers.
Many Twitter workers reportedly consulted lawyers this week to determine what to do. The form barely included any details about the severance packages, and it was not immediately clear whether employees would receive legal protections that would allow them to keep vesting stock awards or maintain insurance coverage.
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Amidst the mass resignations at Twitter, which have forced its offices to be shut for a few days, Twitter CEO Elon Musk reacted this morning with a tweet, saying that he is not super worried?as the best people are staying (at Twitter). #RIPTwitter has also been trending on Twitter today.
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