Twitter bracing for further layoffs as Elon Musk shrinks employee headcount

Layoffs are picking up again at Twitter about six weeks after Elon Musk told his new employees he was done with such actions.

By the end of these cuts, the company could see its lowest headcount in over a decade, Business Insider reports.

Another 50 workers in Twitter's product organization are set to be let go in the coming weeks, two people familiar with the company said. Two weeks ago, dozens of workers in Twitter's advertising, trust and safety, and monetization departments were let go, and Singapore and Australia's offices had layoffs just last week, as Insider reported. 

Employees are expecting that plans to close many international offices and several smaller offices in the U.S. will result in even more layoffs. If this happens, Twitter's headcount could soon be under 2,000 people. That would make it a far smaller company than it's been in over a decade. Twitter went public in 2013 and disclosed having 2,700 workers.

Dipping under 2,000 employees would also mean Musk will have reduced Twitter's headcount by more than 75 per cent – much more than expected when he took over the company at the end of October. His initial round of layoffs cut about half of Twitter's staff, and several hundred more effectively resigned after Musk told them in an email to either agree to his "hardcore" vision of work or leave. Employees continue to be fired unexpectedly with little or no explanation as to why, several affected employees have said.

A representative of Twitter did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Musk said just a couple of weeks before no further rounds of layoffs were "planned," although Twitter employees have come to accept that not much of what Musk says can be taken at face value.

"He just says stuff that sounds right at the time," another person familiar with the company said.

The Tesla billionaire has repeatedly lamented the state of Twitter's business, comparing it in December to a plane crashing toward the ground. At the same time, he has put the blame on former leadership and spending practices.

Still, under his almost three months of leadership, hundreds of advertisers have fled the platform due to the many changes Musk has implemented, from cutting employees tasked with monitoring and removing hate speech to reinstating accounts banned for inciting violence on the platform. Musk has also made several politically charged and misleading comments.

Twitter's business relies on advertising revenue. Musk said in November the company was "losing $4 million a day." Yet, in the second quarter of last year, the last time Twitter released its financials as a public company, it was losing roughly $3 million a day. During the first quarter of last year, Twitter posted a profit of $513 million.

Musk has taken other actions to slash costs. He's killed site features and reduced or taken away numerous employee benefits and perks, like fertility healthcare and freshly prepared food. Some office space in San Francisco and New York has been turned into sleeping quarters and showers to save on hotel expenses, even while cuts to janitorial and facilities staff have left the offices unsanitary and infested with bugs. And his decision on Christmas Eve to disconnect a major data center in Sacramento was also driven by cost. Such centers can cost several million dollars a month to run.