Fear, distrust in Twitter as Musk's 'inner circle' orders 12 hour shifts

In the meanwhile, there have been no discussions over overtime pay, comp time or job security with the employees

Twitter
Photo: Bloomberg
BS Web Team New Delhi
2 min read Last Updated : Nov 02 2022 | 10:30 AM IST
Days after Elon Musk took over the social media platform Twitter, reports have emerged that the new management has instructed some employees to work in 12 hour shifts, seven days a week, to meet the deadlines. There have been no discussions about overtime pay, comp time or job security, according to a report by CNBC.

Among the upcoming deadlines is November 7 set by Musk to rejig the company's subscription model, called Twitter Blue. On Tuesday, Musk announced that users will be able to buy "blue ticks" for a monthly subscription of $8. Earlier, reports emerged that the price could be as high as $20 per month. For the users who do not pay for Twitter Blue, the verification ticks would be taken away. 

According to CNBC's report, internal communication in the company has been hit by growing fear and distrust. 

"Some of Twitter's Slack channels have gone nearly silent," it said. 

"Twitter employees who were there before Musk took over said they have been asked to show his teams all manner of technical documentation, to justify their work and their teams’ work, and to explain their value within the company. The threat of dismissal looms if they do not impress, they said," the report added. 

Moreover, Musk is also aiming to lay off thousands of people to slash the bills. He is working on this with his "inner circle", most of whom have been pulled from Tesla. In the same report, CNBC said that Musk has reportedly asked 50 employees from Tesla's Autopilot team to join Twitter. 

These include, "Director of Software Development Ashok Elluswamy, Director of Autopilot and TeslaBot engineering Milan Kovac, Senior Director of Software Engineering Maha Virduhagiri; Pete Scheutzow, a senior staff technical program manager, and Jake Nocon, who is part of Tesla’s surveillance unit."

It is, however, yet unclear how these employees are expected to divide their time between Tesla and Twitter.

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Topics :Elon MuskTwitterTeslalayoffBS Web ReportsSocial MediaTechnology

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