Inside Twitter, where a “Mass Exodus” of Employees Casts the Platform’s Future in Doubt

By Jaslin On Nov 21, 2022

Users submitted what they felt may be their final postings on the platform Thursday night, listing the other (more reliable) social media platforms where they can still be found and using the hashtag #RIPTwitter to create a global trend.

They were responding to the terrible news that was coming from Twitter. The social network company’s surviving workforce on Thursday appeared to reject owner Elon Musk’s demand that they work “very hardcore,” throwing the platform into complete disarray and raising major concerns about how long it will last.

This article was first published in its entirety in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. Subscribe to the daily summary here that tracks the changing media landscape. Given how essential the site is to international communications, the loss of Twitter would have serious repercussions.

The site is frequently likened to an online town square. Twitter is used by world leaders to communicate, news organizations to acquire information, dissidents in oppressive nations to organize, celebrities and major companies to make significant announcements, and the general people to follow it all in real-time.

No one location would instantly replace the platform if it were to disappear or become unusable due to stability problems, and communications may break down across several social media platforms, causing a seismic disruption and a slowing in the flow of information.

After Musk’s deadline of 5 p.m. for staff to make a decision passed, there was practically a mass resignation inside the company’s Slack. Numerous employees appear to have abandoned their jobs after accepting Elon Musk’s invitation to do so in exchange for a three-month severance package.

For the “see everything’s fine the site still works today” crowdhttps://t.co/nN41A26nlQ pic.twitter.com/5JPHq7ii09

— Paul Tassi (@PaulTassi) November 18, 2022

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and owner of SpaceX, converses with Todd Howard, a famed game designer, on June 13, 2019, at the E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles, California, in the United States. As a result of Elon Musk’s “very tough” work ultimatum, Twitter staff leave the building.

Employees who had decided not to sign Musk’s promise flooded the “#social-watercooler” channel with the salute emoji. When Musk cut about half of the company’s 7,500 employees earlier this month, a similar sequence of events played out on the Slack channel.

A recent departing former executive from Twitter called the situation a “mass exodus.” The former executive responded when asked about the circumstance, “Elon is learning that he can’t bully top senior talent. They won’t put up with his pranks because they have many options.

The previous executive continued, “They will fight merely to keep the lights on.” The other six current and former workers on Thursday all agreed with that evaluation. After Musk implemented huge layoffs at the company earlier this month, things were already terrible enough. So horrible that just a few days after letting some employees go, Twitter urged them to return. The situation has only gotten worse since then.

According to some with knowledge of the situation, senior leaders at Twitter were “scrambling” to persuade talent to stay at the firm even hours before the deadline. Musk sent an email to the entire employees, softening his earlier staunch opposition to remote work as if he had now realized the dire situation. Musk wrote in the email, “With regard to remote work, all that is required for approval is that your manager takes responsibility for ensuring that you are making a fantastic contribution.

It didn’t seem to accomplish much. On Thursday, two employees made the decision to reject Musk’s ultimatum, and their reasons were quite clear. One of them stated, “I don’t want to stick around to produce a product that’s being poisoned from the inside out,” later adding that he felt good about making a choice that was “in line with what I stand for.”

People don’t want to compromise their mental health and family lives in order to increase the wealth of the richest guy in the world, according to a recently laid-off employee who keeps in touch with former coworkers. As of Thursday evening, Twitter appeared to understand the situation it was in and sent an email to staff informing them that it had once again closed all of its offices and suspended employee badge access. This move was likely made to protect Twitter’s systems and data.