The warning came amid a tumultuous start to Musk’s reign at the social media company — a two-week period in which he has fired half of Twitter’s staff, ushered out most of the top executives and ordered the remaining employees to stop working from home. One executive who until Thursday had emerged as part of Musk’s new leadership team, Yoel Roth, departed, people familiar with the situation said.
In his address to staff, Musk issued multiple dour warnings. Employees should brace for 80-hour work weeks. There will be fewer office perks like free food. And he ended the pandemic-era flexibility that allowed employees to work from home. Earlier Thursday, Twitter’s chief information security officer, chief privacy officer and chief compliance officer departed, raising concerns about the company’s ability to keep its platform secure and comply with regulations. Twitter is currently bound by a consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission that regulates how the company handles user data, and could be subject to fines for violations.
The debt Twitter took on to finance Musk’s buyout is leaving it with interest costs that, by one estimate, will surge to US$1.2 billion a year.Article content