Twitter decides on mass layoffs on Friday

Twitter headquarters in San Francisco

The short message service employs around 7,500 people.

(Photo: dpa)

san francisco On Friday, mass layoffs are due to take place on the Twitter short message service. The Handelsblatt found out from corporate circles. In an internal email to the workforce, the company announced that affected employees would be informed on Friday at 9 a.m. local time in San Francisco (5 p.m. in Germany), as reported by US media such as The Verge, Reuters and New York Times.

The email released by the media said: “In an effort to put Twitter on a healthy path, on Friday we will go through the difficult process of reducing our global workforce.”

Twitter said in the email that the offices would be temporarily closed and access blocked for employees “to ensure the security of all employees as well as the Twitter systems and customer data”.

All employees were asked to give home if they were still in the office. Shortly after the e-mail was sent to the workforce, security staff in the San Francisco and New York offices checked that everyone left the workplace, the Insider portal reported.

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Around half of the workforce could be laid off on Friday, US media reported. Twitter recently had around 7,500 employees. Due to the closure, there should hardly be any employees at the company headquarters in San Francisco on Friday when the layoffs are announced. There is still no information about severance pay rules, as the Handelsblatt learned from corporate circles.

Major corporations pause advertising on Twitter

The carmakers Audi and GM, as well as the pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the US food company General Mills have paused their advertising on Twitter, the Bloomberg news agency reported. “We have currently paused paid support on Twitter and will continue to review the situation,” an Audi spokesman said in the report. There was initially no response from the company to a Handelsblatt inquiry.

Elon Musk on the Twitter takeover

The new Twitter boss wanted to lighten the mood with a joke.

(Photo: AP)

IPG, an advertising holding company that represents big clients like Coca-Cola and American Express, has advised its clients to pause their Twitter ads for the next week, according to a report by Reuters news agency.

>> Read here: This is how Handelsblatt readers look at the Twitter deal

With the takeover, Musk had promised to create a good environment for advertisers. Last week, Musk tweeted an open letter to marketers saying he wants to make Twitter “the most respected advertising platform in the world.”

In 2019, Musk tweeted, “I hate advertisers.” Unlike other Musk companies such as electric car maker Tesla or rocket company SpaceX, Twitter relies heavily on advertising revenue. Last year, around 90 percent of Twitter revenue came from advertising on the platform.

Advertising mogul Martin Sorrell, chairman of S4 Capital Plc, told Bloomberg that his company is advising clients to take a wait and see approach to the platform. “Customers don’t want conflict, they don’t want controversy,” Sorrell said. “They want a stable environment and what we’ve seen over the past few weeks is too much inconsistency.”

Twitter accounts for only about 1 percent of the world’s digital media, Sorrell said.

More: Reader debate: This is how Handelsblatt readers look at the Twitter deal

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