The repercussions of Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter continue to unfold, raising numerous questions and concerns among the platform's employees. Reports indicate that a meeting was held at the company, where Twitter's CEO Parag Agrawal sought to calm employee anger during a public assembly on Friday. Employees demanded answers on how managers plan to handle the expected mass exit due to Musk, according to Reuters on Saturday.
The meeting followed Musk's repeated criticism of Twitter's content moderation practices and a senior executive responsible for speech and safety policies.
Regarding employee retention, executives clarified that the company would monitor the rate of employee attrition daily, but it is too early to determine how Musk's acquisition will impact employee retention. Sources revealed that the "American billionaire" informed the banks financing the deal that he would cut salaries for board members and executives, though the specifics of the cost reductions remain unclear. One source mentioned that Musk would not make layoff decisions until he officially becomes the owner of Twitter.
A question from an employee was read aloud during the meeting, asking Agrawal, "I’m tired of hearing about shareholder value and fiduciary duty. What are your thoughts on the very strong possibility that many employees will lose their jobs after the deal is finalized?"
Agrawal replied that Twitter always cares for its employees and will continue to do so. He stated, "I believe that the future Twitter organization will continue to care about its impact on the world and its customers." Furthermore, executives explained during the meeting that the employee attrition rate had not changed compared to the levels before news of Musk's interest in acquiring the company.
Employees voiced concerns that "Musk's erratic behavior" could destabilize Twitter's business and financially harm it, especially as the company prepares to address the advertising world in a presentation next week in New York City. One employee asked, "Do we have a short-term strategy on how to deal with advertisers pulling investments?"
Sarah Personette, Twitter's Chief Customer Officer, confirmed that the company is working to communicate with advertisers frequently and reassured them that "the way we serve our customers will not change."
Post-meeting, a Twitter employee told Reuters that there is little trust in what executives say. He added, "PR talk doesn't work. They told us not to leak and to do work we can be proud of, but there is no clear incentive for employees to do so," noting that non-executive employee bonuses have now been capped due to this deal.
During the meeting, Agrawal urged employees to expect changes in the future under new leadership and acknowledged that the company could have performed better over the years. Recently, Musk publicly criticized Twitter's well-respected longtime attorney Vijaya Gadde, triggering a barrage of online harassment aimed at her.