Elon Musk Summons Twitter Engineers Amid Mass Resignations and Puts up a Poll on Trump Ban – According to numerous news outlets, Elon Musk sent an email requesting that every Twitter employee who writes software code to report to the 10th floor of the San Francisco office on the early afternoon of Friday. According to Reuters, in a subsequent email, the billionaire wrote, “If possible, I would appreciate it if you could fly to SF to be present in person,” and added that he would remain at the company’s headquarters until midnight and would leave early on Saturday.
Musk initiated a Twitter poll on Friday night, asking followers to vote on whether to reinstate the account of former U.S. president Donald Trump. Early data indicated that around 60% of voters supported the proposition. Musk’s letters arrived a day after it was reported that between 1,000 and 1,200 Twitter employees deserted the troubled social media company in response to Musk’s Thursday ultimatum that staffers sign up for “long hours at high intensity” or go. Additionally, The New York Times covered the email and employee decisions.
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In a typical Twitter fashion, dozens of employees tweeted their resignations using a variation of the company’s internal slogan. According to Reuters, citing two unidentified individuals, the company informed staff that it would close its offices and restrict badge access until Monday, and it was not immediately clear whether the headquarters had reopened. Musk ordered employees to email him a summary of what their software code had “achieved” in the past six months, “along with up to 10 screenshots of the most salient lines of code.”
Musk stated in one of the emails, “There will be short, technical interviews that allow me to better understand the Twitter tech stack.” Musk stated this week that some Tesla engineers were assisting in evaluating Twitter’s engineering teams, but he said it was on a “voluntary basis” and “after hours.” The loss of important engineering personnel occurs just days before the World Cup, when the service generally anticipates an increase in traffic. The high-traffic event might be a significant test for the new Twitter 2.0, as Musk termed it, and how the firm plans to operate with a reduced workforce.
Musk stated that he would attempt to speak with remote employees by video, and that only people who could not physically get to the company’s headquarters or had a family emergency would be excused. In his first email to Twitter employees this month, Musk said: “We are also changing Twitter policy such that remote work is no longer allowed, unless you have a specific exception.” “Managers will send the exceptions lists to me for review and approval.”
Dmitry Borodaenko, a former Twitter employee who claimed he was sacked for not reporting to the office, filed a class action complaint against the company over its remote work policy. According to the complaint, Borodaenko, who has a condition that makes him susceptible to Covid-19, asserts that the remote-work policy and the obligation to work long, intense hours violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Musk’s first three weeks as Twitter’s owner were characterized by rapid upheaval and disorder. Earlier this month, he ousted Twitter’s previous CEO and several top executives and then laid off half of the company’s workforce. Musk stated in May that he would reinstate Trump’s account on Twitter, which had been disabled following the attack on the US Capitol.
Musk stated earlier on Friday that a decision regarding the reinstatement of Trump’s account had not yet been made, and that Twitter had reinstated some banned or suspended accounts, including satirical website Babylon Bee and comedian Kathy Griffin, who was suspended after changing her Twitter name to Elon Musk. Musk’s plan to ask Twitter users for advice on who should be on the platform is part of a significant company restructure that includes massive layoffs.
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Yoel Roth, the former head of trust and safety who was tasked with assuaging advertisers’ fears about the platform, stated in an op-ed for The New York Times that he decided to resign last week since it was evident that Elon Musk would be calling all the shots. Musk tweeted late Thursday night that he was unconcerned about departures since “the best people are staying.” “So where will Twitter go from here?” Roth wrote.
“Some of the company’s decisions in the weeks and months to come, like the near certainty of allowing Donald Trump’s account back on the service, will have an immediate, perceptible impact. But to truly understand the shape of Twitter going forward, I’d encourage looking not just at the choices the company makes but at how Mr Musk makes them.”
