Twitter in Great Turmoil as Musk Wields Blade of "Cruel CEO"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Social networking service (SNS) Twitter is experiencing turmoil after a 'week of disruption' following the arrival of its new leader, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. Amid cost-cutting measures that led to the dismissal of half the employees, Twitter has been scrambling to rehire some mistakenly laid-off staff and delaying the timing of subscription fee increases for paid services introduced by Musk. The chaos continues amid Musk's characteristic rapid pace. Inside Twitter, harsh criticisms are pouring in toward Musk, with employees calling him "cruel" and accusing him of treating staff like "labor robots."

Bloomberg reported on the 6th (local time), citing multiple sources, that Twitter has contacted some of the employees laid off on the 4th to ask them to return. Sources explained that the layoffs were either made by mistake or that Musk later determined these employees were necessary for developing new programs he envisioned, prompting the outreach.

On the 4th, Twitter laid off 3,700 employees, half of its total workforce of 7,500. Musk explained the layoffs by stating, "The company is losing over $4 million (about 5.6 billion KRW) a day, so there was no choice." Bloomberg noted, "Many employees suddenly lost access to company systems such as email and Slack before learning about their dismissal," adding, "The requests for some employees to return show how rushed and chaotic the process was."

The internal atmosphere at Twitter following the layoffs is at its worst. Musk is reportedly pressuring remaining employees to quickly launch new features. Bloomberg reported that some employees are even sleeping at the office to meet release deadlines.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Business media Business Insider reported that negative reviews about Musk are flooding the anonymous workplace review app 'Blind.' One Twitter employee sarcastically said, "A ruthless decision-maker has taken the helm of the ship called Twitter," adding, "For thrill-seekers, this kind of emergency work is exciting." Another employee pointed out, "A workplace culture that was compassionate and people-first has been perfectly and rapidly destroyed."

On the day Twitter sent messages warning employees about layoffs, a post appeared on Blind saying, "The company was good until Musk took over." A senior software developer criticized Musk for treating Twitter employees like "labor robots" since his acquisition, sarcastically adding, "You can feel a sense of accomplishment by working and sleeping in the office 24/7." Another post on Blind stated, "Twitter is in chaos. Musk's ego is as big as Mars, but he has no idea what he's doing."

Earlier, the sudden layoffs by Musk drew concerns from the United Nations (UN) and U.S. President Joe Biden. Volker T?rk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged Musk in a letter published on the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) website the day before, saying, "Human rights must be at the center of management at Twitter under your leadership." President Biden criticized on the 4th, "Elon Musk bought a platform that spreads lies worldwide. There are no editors left in America now."

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, "During Musk's first week at Twitter, he ignored advice from management experts," adding, "Musk, who described himself as a 'nano manager,' seems to be applying the strategies he used when founding Tesla and SpaceX. His obsession with directly intervening in product decisions and his commands regarding corporate structure and speed are typical."

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

In fact, less than a week after acquiring Twitter, on the 1st, Musk announced he would raise the subscription fee for the paid service 'Twitter Blue,' which includes user verification features, from $4.99 to $8. This was the first step to change Twitter's revenue structure, which heavily depends on advertisers. Users of this service receive a 'blue check' mark next to their names, indicating verified accounts like celebrities, companies, or politicians. Twitter launched this service the day before.

However, the New York Times (NYT) reported that the launch date is likely to be postponed to the 9th. Internal concerns arose late that this move could affect the U.S. midterm elections scheduled for the 8th, and the project manager reportedly responded, "We decided to delay the launch until after the midterm elections on the 9th." NYT noted, "The 9th is the day after the election, and vote counting may still be ongoing, so results might not be finalized."

Musk is focusing with close aides on exploring ways to diversify Twitter's revenue streams. Besides Twitter Blue, paid direct messages (DMs) and other options are reportedly under consideration.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.