Dec 22, 2024

Class Action Lawsuit Filed After Musk Fires Half of Twitter Staff

by Nadia El-Yaouti | Nov 09, 2022
Elon Musk's Twitter profile page displayed on a computer screen, magnified through a lens. Photo Source: Adobe Stock Image

After finalizing his deal with Twitter execs to purchase the company for what many have called an overvalued $44 billion, Elon Musk's first move as CEO was to clean house. Of the roughly 7,500 workers who were employed at Twitter before the takeover, nearly 3,700 have now found themselves suddenly without a job.

While many of these now-former employees are taking to Twitter to share their shock, a handful of former employees are taking their concerns to the courthouse. After the abrupt mass layoff, a class action lawsuit was filed against the billionaire and his unorthodox approach to business.

The lawsuit was filed in a San Francisco court on behalf of five current and former Twitter employees. One of the plaintiffs is an individual who was told he was terminated effective last Tuesday, days before the mass layoff. A number of other employees were told they would find out news of their termination on November 4th. Employees who would remain with the company would receive an email on their work accounts, while terminated employees should expect an email in their personal email accounts.

The lawsuit alleges that Twitter violated federal law by not providing at least a 60-day notice of termination. Under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, employers are required to provide a 60-day notice for mass layoffs or plant closings.

In announcing that the company would be terminating nearly 50% of its workforce, reports indicate that Musk shared with employees that although they would no longer be working with the company, they would still continue to receive pay and full benefits up until the new year.

Musk confirmed this in a tweet he shared late Friday. “Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately, there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day. Everyone exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required.”

Shannon Liss-Riordan, the attorney who filed the proposed class action lawsuit, shared with Bloomberg News, “We filed this lawsuit tonight in an attempt to make sure that employees are aware that they should not sign away their rights and that they have an avenue for pursuing their rights.”

The sudden mass layoffs are not the only cause for concern Twitter has drummed up in the past couple of days. Days before announcing the layoffs, Reports began to surface that users would now have the option to pay $8 to maintain their blue verification check. For many, this adjustment in verification eligibility could disrupt the flow of information just days before midterm elections. The flow of information before election time was also concerning as a majority of terminated employees worked as content moderators.

In addition to allegations that Twitter disregarded the law through its sweeping mass layoff, many nixed employees expressed their frustration at how the layoffs were conducted. Some have shared that the little time between when the company was sold and the mass layoffs took place was not enough for a reasonable decision to be made on who should get fired. One former employee who was based in New England shared that there didn’t seem to be enough reasonable time for performance reviews and evaluations to have been considered regarding which employees would stay and which would leave.

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Nadia El-Yaouti
Nadia El-Yaouti
Nadia El-Yaouti is a postgraduate from James Madison University, where she studied English and Education. Residing in Central Virginia with her husband and two young daughters, she balances her workaholic tendencies with a passion for travel, exploring the world with her family.

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