Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has dissolved Twitter’s entire board of directors following his buyout of the social media giant, legal documents filed with financial regulators on Monday show.
Musk reportedly plans to cull the platform’s workforce by as much as 25%, according to interviews and documents obtained by the Washington Post. The new owner's inner circle is now reportedly deciding who will be part of the first round of layoffs, which is expected to affect over 7,000 people from nearly all departments, including sales, product, engineers, legal, as well as trust and safety, according to a source cited by the outlet.
Although Musk has not explicitly confirmed the plans, he has previously raised concerns about there being too many people in management positions at the company. When asked what the most “messed up thing at Twitter” was, Musk replied by tweeting that there seems to be “10 people ‘managing’ for every one person coding.”
Some have now raised concerns that the massive layoffs may lead to instability at the company and result in more harassment and trolling on the platform. Musk, however, has stressed that his sole-directorship is temporary and reassured his Twitter followers that all moderation on Twitter would continue to function without any changes for the time being.
The billionaire explained that he is now forming a content moderation council and noted that any changes to Twitter’s content policies and account reinstatements would only take place after this council had convened.
Musk finalized his purchase of Twitter for $44 billion last week following a tumultuous buyout process lasting nearly six months. After a lawsuit filed by Twitter ultimately forced the buyout, Musk’s first move as CEO was to fire four of the highest-ranking executives at the company, including former CEO Parag Agrawal, stating that he had “no confidence” in the social media giant’s management.
The billionaire has stated that he believes Twitter to be the new public town square and has stressed the importance of combating excessive partisan censorship on the platform. He also insists that he has not purchased Twitter to “make more money,” but rather to “help humanity.”