Employee walkouts were ramping up after an ultimatum on Twitter from new owner Elon Musk on Thursday, asking employees to be “really tough” and work intensive, long hours or lose their jobs.
Twitter management also told employees on Thursday that offices were temporarily closed and inaccessible, according to Zoe Schiffer, a reporter for tech industry newsletter Platformer.
“Going forward, to build a Twitter 2.0 breakthrough and succeed in an increasingly competitive world, we will have to be very tough,” Musk wrote in the ultimatum sent on Wednesday and seen by AFP.
“This means working long hours with great intensity. Only exceptional performance will count for a passing grade,” he added.
Employees were asked to follow a link to confirm their commitment to the “new Twitter” by 5:00 p.m. New York time (2200 GMT) on Thursday.
“I may be #exceptional, but hey, I’m not #hardcore,” wrote former employee Andrea Horst, whose LinkedIn profile still reads “Supply Chain & Talent Management (Alive) @Twitter.”
He added the hashtag “#lovewhereyouworked”, and many other workers announced the choice.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has also been involved in radical changes at the social media company, which he bought for $44 billion late last month.
He has already laid off half of the company’s 7,500 employees, scrapped a work-from-home policy and imposed long hours, while attempts to revamp Twitter have been plagued by chaos and delays.
Its attempt to revamp user verification with a controversial subscription service has led to a flurry of fake accounts and hoaxes, prompting major advertisers to pull away from the platform.
AFP
