(Headline USA) Twitter employees sent Elon Musk a list of demands this week in response to reports that he plans to fire 75% of the company once he takes over, urging the incoming owner not to punish them for their “political beliefs.”
Musk, who finalized his deal to buy Twitter this month, reportedly plans to reduce Twitter’s headcount from 7,500 employees to 2,000, in large part because of the company’s “strong left wing bias.”
In response, Twitter employees sent Musk an open letter, obtained by Time Magazine, warning him that mass lay-offs would “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,” the letter claimed.
The employees demanded that Musk treat them “with dignity” and not like “mere pawns in a game played by billionaires.” They demanded that Musk commits to “fair” severance policies and more communication about working conditions, and urged him not to discriminate against employees based on their “race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or political beliefs.” They also demanded “safety” for workers on visas, “who will be forced to leave the country they work in if they are laid off.”
The employees also demanded that Musk “explicitly commit to preserve our benefits, those both listed in the merger agreement and not (e.g. remote work).”
“We, the workers at Twitter, will not be intimidated. We recommit to supporting the communities, organizations, and businesses who rely on Twitter. We will not stop serving the public conversation,” the letter stated.
“We call on Twitter management and Elon Musk to cease these negligent layoff threats,” it continued. “As workers, we deserve concrete commitments so we can continue to preserve the integrity of our platform.”
It is unclear how many Twitter employees have signed the letter.
