X, the social media company formerly known as Twitter, is set to leave San Francisco in the coming weeks.
In a Monday email from Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X appointed last year by owner Elon Musk, X staffers were briefly informed of the company’s plans to shutter the office that has served as Twitter headquarters for more than a decade.
“After much thought, we have made the decision to close our San Francisco office over the next few weeks,” Yaccarino wrote in the email viewed by Fortune. “This is an important decision that impacts many of you, but it is the right one for our company in the long term.”
Musk abruptly stated on X about three weeks ago that the company’s headquarters would move to Texas, where his other companies SpaceX, Tesla and The Boring Company, are also located. Musk and X were sued earlier this year by the owner of the Market Street building, for allegedly failing to pay rent after Musk took over Twitter in late 2022. The building owner dismissed the lawsuit in March.
Yaccarino’s note to X staff said nothing of a move to Texas, as Musk claimed last month. Instead, she said that X staff located in San Francisco would be moved to existing office space in San Jose and Palo Alto.
“We will work to transition to our new primary locations in the Bay Area,” she wrote.
The move comes as San Francisco is struggling to revive its downtown district and its commercial real estate market. And it marks a setback to the city's efforts to turn the gritty mid-Market Street area into a thriving tech hub.
Twitter took over the San Francisco space—an expansive, 1-million square foot Art Deco building that once served as a furniture showroom—and made it its global headquarters in 2012. Soon after Musk became Twitter’s owner, firing thousands of employees, several floors of the building were effectively closed; and when the company was renamed X, the famous Twitter sign (along with all other vestiges of the company's pre-Musk era) were summarily removed. More than a dozen global offices were closed as well. Musk also ended the company’s flexible work from home policy, requiring all employees to work in the office every day.
X representatives did not respond to an email seeking comment. Details of Yaccarino's email was first reported by the New York Times.
Below is the full note that Yaccarino sent staffers on Monday:
Title: SF Office Closing
All,
After much thought, we have made the decision to close our San Francisco office over the next few weeks. This is an important decision that impacts many of you, but it is the right one for our company in the long term.
We will work to transition to our new primary locations in the Bay Area including the existing office in San Jose and a new engineering focused shared space with XAl in Palo Alto.
For those based in San Francisco, I know this will impact you all in different ways. Leadership is actively working on plans, including transportation options, for those directly impacted.
Further information and next steps will be communicated in the coming weeks.
