The future of one of the Bay Area’s most influential — and unprofitable — companies is in the hands of a man seen by some as a genius and by others as a madman. For now, chaos reigns at Twitter, with thousands of workers abruptly ousted Friday and advertisers wary of new owner Elon Musk’s plans for the social media giant.
Musk’s $44 billion leveraged buyout and privatization of Twitter last month saddled the company with $13 billion in debt. On Friday, Twitter, which has lost money for eight of the past 10 years, began a massive layoff that could amount to some 3,700 jobs, or half the San Francisco-based firm’s global workforce, according to many reports., saying “unfortunately there is no choice” because the company was losing more than $4 million per day.
The Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a business-backed policy and advocacy organization, said Friday was a “tough day for so many incredibly talented people at Twitter.” But it took a neutral stance on changes at the company under Musk. “Disruption has long been a hallmark of the Silicon Valley economy, which brings with it highs and lows,” the group’s CEO Ahmad Thomassaid.