SAN FRANCISCO: Elon Musk told Twitter Inc employees on Wednesday that he doesn’t plan to cut 75% of the staff when he takes over the company, according to people familiar with the matter.
Musk, whose $44 billion deal for Twitter is on track to close Friday, denied the previously reported number in an address to employees at the company’s San Francisco office, said the people, who declined to be named because the information isn’t public.
The billionaire is still expected to cut staff as part of the takeover, causing anxiety among workers. Earlier on Thursday, Musk posted a video clip of himself walking into the offices carrying a kitchen sink. He changed his Twitter profile description to read “Chief Twit.”
The social-media platform is expected to come under Musk’s ownership by 5pm New York time on October 28, as lawyers and bankers on both sides race to finalize paperwork.
Completing the transaction would mark the culmination of a months-long saga that saw Musk amass a big stake in the company, agree to join its board before changing his mind and then embark on a hasty quest to take Twitter private. Aside from the debt financing, he also rounded up a who’s who of billionaire buddies and other investors to pony up part of the equity needed, signing the takeover agreement while waiving the right to examine Twitter’s financials.
