On Thursday (October 27), Elon Musk finally closed the deal and became the new owner of the social network
What is known
The New York Times writes about this:citing four people with knowledge of the matter. The extent of the layoffs could not be determined. But Ross Gerber, chief executive of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, which invested the money in the Twitter acquisition, has heard that about 50% of the staff will be laid off. For reference, Twitter has about 7,500 employees.
Reports of layoffs appeared back in April.when Musk was just planning to buy the social network. At the time, he told investors he would take Twitter private, cut its staff, eliminate content moderation rules and find new sources of revenue.
The Twitter layoffs were supposed to happen.until November 1, when employees must receive shares as compensation. Such grants typically make up a significant portion of employee salaries. By laying off workers before that date, Musk can avoid paying grants, although under the terms of the merger agreement he must pay workers in cash instead of their shares.