The new owner of the social network is looking for ways to revive the platform and generate revenue.
The decision is imminent.
Elon Musk is set to make big cuts at Twitter (TWTR) – Get Twitter Inc. Report, the platform he took over on October 27 after closing a $44 billion deal.
Long before the signing, information was already circulating in the press about massive job cuts to come.
The Washington Post had reported that the billionaire was planning to cut 75% of jobs. This figure therefore suggested that 5,625 people would be laid off because Twitter currently employs 7,500 people.
A week after his arrival, Musk seems ready to put an end to the suspense. According to Bloomberg News, the tech tycoon has finally decided to cut half of the jobs, or 3,700 jobs. Employees will be informed from November 3.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, warns that the number of jobs cut may still change. Terminated employees could receive severance pay equivalent to 60 days of work.
Musk is looking for ways to revive Twitter, which he acquired at too high a price, according to several experts and analysts. If the social network is influential because it often determines the important issues, it generates on the other hand much less income than its rivals Youtube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok which attract more advertisers.
Top Executives and Entire Board Out
Drastically reducing costs is one of the ways the billionaire is considering to improve profitability. Musk started by firing four top executives in the early hours of his takeover: CEO Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal, senior legal heads Vijaya Gadde and Sean Edgett.
There are the departures of other executives such as Chief Marketing Officer Leslie Berland, Chief Customer Officer Sarah Personette.
The billionaire also fired, unsurprisingly, the entire board of directors. He is currently the only board member but has indicated that it is only temporary.
The new boss has also given himself the title of Chief Twit” and not that of CEO. Musk hates the title of CEO and has changed it in the various companies where he has held this position, such as at Tesla. His title at Tesla is “Technoking of Tesla.”
Besides the cost cuts, Musk wants to make people pay for using Twitter.
The platform will soon start charging for blue badges showing that an account has been verified. Basically the person is who they say they are. This blue badge was previously free. This will now be part of a monthly subscription of $8 per month which gives subscribers other benefits.
Controversial
Blue badges, used mostly by brands, governments, celebrities or journalists, will be part of the paid features starting next week. Blue subscribers will also have priority in replies, mentions & search, ability to post long video and audio, and half as many ads, the billionaire said.
Individuals and institutions whose accounts are currently verified will have a grace period before deciding whether or not to pay.
To better drive home the idea of charging for the blue badge, Musk said it’s also a way to weed out spam bots, or fake accounts, that are one of Twitter’s biggest problems. He explained that the financial cost should discourage entities and people running bot farms that regularly spread social media misinformation and misinformation and hate speech.
“Essentially, this raises the cost of crime on Twitter by several orders of magnitude,” Musk said on Nov. 1.
This paid model is controversial.
