AMID massive layoffs at Twitter across the world, including in India, and subsequent backlash, the microblogging site’s new owner Elon Musk on Saturday justified the move, saying, there was “no choice” when the company was losing millions of dollars daily. The company posted a net loss of USD 270 million in the second quarter ended on June 30, 2022 compared to a profit of USD 66 million in the same period a year ago. “Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day,” Musk tweeted. “Everyone exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required,” he added. Hundreds of employees were handed the pink slips at Twitter on Friday as Musk, 51, started overhauling the social media platform which he bought for a whopping USD 44 billion late last month. In a letter to employees obtained by multiple media outlets on Friday, the company said, employees would find out by 9 am Pacific Standard Time if they had been laid off.

 

The email did not say how many people would lose their jobs. Musk has blamed activists for a significant drop in the company’s revenues. “Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists. Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America,” Musk tweeted on Friday.