During a virtual interaction at the CEO Council Summit in London, Elon Musk, CEO, Twitter, shared his approach to conducting layoffs, drawing from his experience at Twitter. Musk explained that when he took over the company, he found that many individuals didn’t seem to bring significant value to the organisation. As a result, he made the decision to implement job cuts, which ultimately led to improved productivity.
Since Musk’s takeover in October 2022, Twitter has undergone substantial restructuring, with over 80 percent of its workforce, including former CEO Parag Agrawal, being let go. Musk noted that this situation was not unique to Twitter but prevalent in many Silicon Valley companies, suggesting that other companies could benefit from significant cuts without compromising productivity. According to him, these cuts can actually enhance productivity.
Musk pointed out that Twitter was facing a situation where meetings involved ten people, with only one person accelerating progress while the rest acted as brakes. To address this issue, he made the necessary job cuts to streamline operations and create a more focused and productive workforce.
Despite the extensive layoffs, Musk mentioned that Twitter plans to resume hiring in the future. Currently, the company has approximately 1,500 employees, which Musk considers to be a reasonable number.
In November 2022, when Twitter staff experienced mass layoffs and resignations, Musk sent a memo to employees outlining his expectations for their work. The memo emphasised the need for exceptional performance, long hours, and high-intensity work. Musk required employees to sign a Google form agreeing to be part of ‘Twitter 2.0’ or face termination.
