According to Elon Musk, he has terminated the employment of more than 80% of Twitter’s entire workforce since taking over the company in October last year and conducting multiple rounds of layoffs after the $44 billion takeover. During an interview with BBC on Twitter Spaces, the billionaire announced that only approximately 1,500 employees are still working at Twitter out of the initial staff count of just under 8,000 when he acquired the company.
When asked about the difficulty of dismissing a large number of people, Elon Musk admitted that it was a challenging and uncomfortable task, stating that it was “not fun at all” and could be quite “painful.” Additionally, Musk clarified that he does not personally terminate every employee, explaining that it’s not feasible to speak to thousands of people individually.
Although Elon Musk acknowledges that his time at Twitter has been a tumultuous journey, he believes that the company is currently progressing reasonably well. While he admits to having acquired Twitter out of necessity, he recently revealed that he perceives the company to be worth around $20 billion, which is less than half of what he initially paid for it.
Elon Musk Refuses to Sell Twitter, Even for $44 Billion
Despite the decreased valuation, Musk remains resolute in his decision not to sell Twitter, even if someone offered him the $44 billion he paid for the company. However, he clarified that he would consider selling Twitter only if the potential buyer promised to maintain the same level of transparency and truthfulness as he does.
Elon Musk Announces Discontinuation of Legacy Blue Checkmarks
On April 20th, also known as ‘4/20’, Elon Musk posted a tweet announcing the discontinuation of legacy blue checkmarks. In a subsequent conversation with a BBC journalist, he clarified that any social media account that fails to pay for verification will lose their blue checkmark within the next week.
