Elon Musk fired half of Twitter’s staff. And it affects you too – current affairs

what happened?

Twitter announced Friday that it is laying off “about 50%” of its 7,500 employees worldwide, a week after the platform was bought by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk.

“About 50% of the workforce will be affected” by the ongoing layoffs in the California company, according to documents that have reached the press, confirming the intention of the new owner to restructure the company in his image.

The owner of SpaceX and Tesla, which bought Twitter for $44 billion, has already dissolved the company’s board of directors, firing its CEO and other executives.

Layoffs have also started to be reported throughout the week, but not on this scale. But it wasn’t just the scale of the layoffs that raised eyebrows – it was the manner in which they occurred.

then?

It was a surprise. It started when thousands of Twitter employees were asked to stay home after a temporary office shutdown.

While they were at home, a flurry of layoffs followed, and the California company informed each employee of its decision via email.

“As previously announced, Twitter is reducing its workforce to improve the health of the company. These decisions are never easy and it is with regret that we are writing to inform you that your role at Twitter has been affected. Today (Friday)) is our last day on the job,” reads one of the messages sent to employees.

Before that, some workers had already found out that they had been fired, using the same platform to say goodbye to their colleagues.

Former employee Blake Herzinger, for example, wrote, “I don’t have a job,” while others have reported losing access to company servers and email accounts.

But doesn’t buying mean more money?

not necessarily. It is reported that Musk withdrew from the purchase and had to go ahead with a court decision because he already had a prior agreement. To finance the Twitter purchase, Musk borrowed heavily on the company, whose financial health was already weak in itself, and it posted big losses in the first two quarters of the year.

To complete the purchase, the billionaire took out $13 billion in loans – and here’s the main part – that must be paid by Twitter and not by him.

The billionaire also sold $15.5 billion worth of Tesla stock and bonds he pledged from his automaker as security for another $12.5 billion in loans.

Today, the company confirmed that the layoffs would save $400 million annually. Therefore, in the dismissal messages as well, it was noted that Twitter is going through a “very difficult” moment. “We realize that this will affect the many people who have made valuable contributions to Twitter, but unfortunately, this action is necessary to ensure the company’s future success.”

And now?

Times already seem to be “incredibly difficult” for Twitter, in part because of the current situation, and in part because of the way Musk began making changes to the company right away.

It’s just that even before the purchase, Musk was making promises about making Twitter a social network with greater freedom of speech — which, given the current political polarization scenario, especially in the US, seemed to mean less control over speech. hated.

In addition, Musk suggested that he would restore banned accounts, such as those of former US President Donald Trump – remember that the Republican businessman was fired shortly after his supporters invaded the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Musk immediately said he would form a committee to evaluate future Twitter usage policies, particularly with regard to moderation in posted content and said restoration of banned accounts. Coincidence or not, when the purchase was made, it was observed Big increase in posts Using racist or sexual language.

In addition, the need for rapid funding to close the social network’s financial gap has led to Musk facing proposals that are not well received by a large percentage of users. Most controversial is the potential launch of an eight-dollar-a-month subscription for users who want to check their accounts, among other perks.

what’s the problem?

Twitter’s current ID verification system is free – to get the blue badge next to your name, you need to prove your identity to the social network team.

However, this is a service provided only to public figures whose authenticity must be preserved – from politicians, doctors, researchers and journalists to artists and celebrities. Basically, it is, for example, a way for anyone to create an account pretending to be the President of the United States of America.

Where does this affect me?

Musk resorted to the argument that this system, on the one hand, creates “toasts” in the Twitter community, and on the other hand, allows the spread of bots and fake accounts, claiming that through such a subscription it encourages the average user to proceed with verification. But your solution can create more problems

As Vox explains in this articleThe proposed new verification system only requires payment, and does not require identity verification. As such, it will eventually be possible for anyone to impersonate another person as long as they pay eight dollars a month.

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that this new system also states that those who subscribe take precedence in searches – that is, their tweets appear before those from unverified accounts – and in replies in threads that are usually created between conversations.

this cocktail It can mean, at worst, the proliferation of fake accounts spreading misinformation pretending to be real due to the verification system or, at best, creating a system that is unequal to the current one, only encouraging bad users who pay for the privilege.

Well, anyway, even if you don’t have a Twitter account, it can affect your life in more unpredictable ways than you think, as most political communication takes place through this platform these days – and this is where a lot of the news begins by breeding. Just remember the influence Donald Trump had in the period when he still had an account on this social network.

These changes can be counterproductive even in financial terms.

Because?

Faced with this combination of increasingly hostile rhetoric on the platform with the potential for a new verification system to completely change the dynamics on the platform, big companies such as General Motors and Volkswagen have halted their Twitter ads.

Advertising is Twitter’s main source of income, and Musk is trying to calm nerves by ensuring the platform does not become “hell for everyone.”

but today, Indicate a new targetCriticizing “groups of activists putting pressure on advertisers, even though nothing has changed regarding moderation in content and that we have done everything we can to please them,” he wrote today in a tweet. “This is really crazy! They are trying to destroy freedom of expression in the United States,” he added.

While the chaos promises to continue to rage on Twitter, there are users already turning to other social networks: For example, this week Mastodon rose to 655 thousand users.