Twitter employees are less than satisfied with Elon Musk’s decision to reverse course and follow through with his acquisition of the platform, likely leading to staff attrition.
Several employees posted critically about the decision by Musk to offer to go through with his purchase of Twitter. The decision arrived after months of employee attrition and concerns from staff about the billionaire’s vision to overhaul the platform with a focus on free speech, a vision that was only made more evident through the legal proceedings from Twitter’s lawsuit against him.
At least one Twitter employee summarized the company’s mood in a single sentence, according to the Washington Post: “Congrats or I’m sorry y’all.”
A TIMELINE OF MUSK’S ON-AGAIN, OFF-AGAIN PURSUIT OF TWITTER
Many were stumped by the billionaire’s conduct. “I don’t understand why Elon would need to propose the deal again,” one employee wrote in the company’s Slack, according to screenshots seen by the Verge. “The original one still stands. Just write the check, bro.”
Several other employees expressed displeasure with the company leadership over Blind, an app used to discuss workplaces under pseudonyms. When someone put up a poll asking what employees will miss “post-privatized Twitter,” some employees seemed not to express a desire to stick around.
“I saw the post, thought ‘haha my job’ then saw it was a poll option, so selected it, but now realizing I won’t miss the job I currently have,” one employee wrote. “I will and do miss my 2019/2020/2021 job, but I will not miss my 2022 job.”
“As bad as [former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey] was at his job (maybe because of it?) Twitter had one of the best cultures / [work-life balance] / benefits in the industry under him,” another employee added. “Learnt a lot, met some awesome folks, enjoyed the ride, now time to exit the theme park and let the new owner raze it to the ground and build what he wants (metaphorically).”
The company has lost hundreds of employees in the wake of Musk’s initial offer, seeming to reflect disinterest in sticking with a Musk-led Twitter. While these employees have earned the attention of the press, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has attempted to downplay concerns, stating in texts to Musk that a “large silent majority” of employees supported Musk and his vision for the company.
Musk sent the letter on Monday for both parties to consider. Twitter confirmed on Tuesday that it intends to accept the offer but has not said if it will end its lawsuit against Musk or resolve the case in the Delaware Court of Chancery.
Musk’s legal battle with Twitter has offered insights into his business decision-making process regarding the deal, including his fixation on free speech, and has revealed multiple conversations with other tech executives about how he can improve the company and change its operations. Musk’s researchers were also unable to substantiate Musk’s claims about bots, according to recently released court filings.
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A majority of Twitter’s shareholders voted in favor of Twitter’s board of directors approving the deal on Sept. 13.
