Elon Musk plans to lay off 75% of Twitter employees

Billionaire Elon Musk is expected to lay off up to three-quarters of Twitter's employees after completing the acquisition of the social network.

According to documents obtained by the Washington Post , Musk will reduce the number of employees at Twitter from 7,500 people now to 2,000 people once he takes over. It is expected that this decision will be made after October 28, when the transfer is completed.

Image of Elon Musk's Twitter account on a smartphone, behind is the Twitter logo. Photo: Reuters

According to the source, firing Twitter employees was part of the deal to take over the social media company. Musk told investors he planned to reduce staff in an initial offering to bankers for funding purposes.

An internal Twitter memo to employees obtained by Bloomberg shows the social network "has no plans for any company-wide layoffs." However, the document does mention plans to eliminate some employees and cut infrastructure costs. This is said to make the staff even more frustrated.

Earlier, Musk announced the purchase of Twitter but later changed his mind, causing this social network staff to fall into a state of depression and mass layoffs. "The Twitter boat seems to have lost its rudder. Things have been aggravated by Musk," Carl Tobias, dean of the Law faculty at the University of Richmond, told the Guardian .

According to Tobias, the layoffs will certainly have an impact on Twitter's day-to-day operations, including its ability to control harmful content and combat security issues. Earlier, Musk said that, as Twitter's owner, he would relax content moderation policies and potentially move the company to a fee-based model.

In April, Musk agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion. But in July, he announced his withdrawal on the grounds that this social network violated many terms of the merger agreement. Last month, he changed his mind again, saying he would still buy Twitter at the old price. Musk currently has about a week to complete the Twitter acquisition. Otherwise, the two sides will have to go to court in November. Many legal experts believe that Musk really wants to buy Twitter this time. Still, they say the key to the deal is Musk's ability to raise $44 billion.