Elon Musk has laid off half of Twitter’s 7,500 employees.
(Photo: REUTERS)
san francisco It was clear that there would be harsh cuts following the takeover of Twitter by the world’s richest person, Elon Musk. Twitter badly needs a reboot. But Musk’s actions plunge Twitter into a crisis that threatens the platform’s survival.
The reduction of some of the approximately 7,500 jobs on Twitter was hardly avoidable. Nobody in Silicon Valley had any illusions about that. Steve Jobs also initiated the change of course at Apple with the massive downsizing in 1997. At that time, almost every third position was cut at the technology group.
Unlike Musk, however, Jobs took the time to think carefully about which people were important to Apple’s survival and which projects and jobs the company could do without. And Jobs worked closely with the existing leadership team around Chairman and CEO Gilbert Amelio in the selection process for the downsizing.
Musk takes a different approach. Immediately after buying Twitter, he threw out the existing management. Seven days wasn’t enough to evaluate who matters on Twitter and who doesn’t. Musk and his team took such a radical approach that even Twitter’s critical infrastructure could be at risk. Around every second person in the company was fired on Friday.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Musk’s successes as an entrepreneur are undisputed. With Tesla, he shaped the market for e-cars and presented established car manufacturers such as Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW. With SpaceX he reinvented commercial space travel.
>> Read also: Five reasons why Musk’s reach for Twitter is so dangerous
His goals for Twitter to take the platform to new heights while fighting trolls ring true. But the chaotic first days at Twitter alone can lead to massive outages soon. Key professionals are missing.
Musk has also alienated an important group: advertisers. Of course, companies are cautious after Musk shared right-wing conspiracy stories about the attack on US leader Nancy Pelosi’s husband shortly after the Twitter purchase. Unsurprisingly, automakers in particular are pausing their advertising budgets now that one of their direct competitors controls Twitter.
Instead of pleading for understanding, Musk threatened advertisers. Your actions endanger freedom of speech. If they don’t change course, he could publicly embarrass them, Musk rumbled.
This is not how Musk gains supporters. That’s how he makes enemies.
More: “It’s pure chaos” – that’s how the mass layoffs went on Twitter.