SÃO PAULO, SP (FOLHAPRESS) – Some of the approximately 150 Twitter employees in Brazil do not have access to the company’s internal system after receiving a statement about possible layoffs. The wave of dismissals in the company is global.
According to reports, the platform cut off access to almost every office sector in the country, with the exception of the sales team, which had members. Additionally, a statement was sent to employees’ personal emails at 4 a.m. on Friday (4).
“As previously shared, Twitter is reducing its workforce to help improve the health of the company. These decisions are never easy and it is regrettable that we are writing to inform you that your Twitter role has been determined to be potentially affected or at risk.” Read the message.
The interpretation of some employees is that the notice is a dismissal, although the company asks to wait for more information. According to reports, the atmosphere is filled with confusion. There were no new notices until early Friday afternoon, but some employees had already started posting farewell messages on Twitter.
Reports are collected from contributors from around the world under the hashtag #OneTeam. Even those who say they already have assurance that they will stay at the company are criticizing the layoffs, such as Eli Schutze, of the UK office.
“I got the email…I still have a job. But I stayed up last night watching hardworking, talented and interested people getting fired one by one and I don’t know what to say,” she wrote.
In Brazil, doubts about the possibility of this happening began two weeks ago, when a Washington Post report revealed the intention of billionaire Elon Musk to lay off 75% of the company’s employees after its purchase. The protracted acquisition completed on October 27, a day before the deadline to close the deal that began in April.
Other recent news indicated that the new owner will cut 3,500 employees, which is equivalent to half the number of employees. According to a report from the Financial Times, it may also reverse the Department of the Interior’s approved post-pandemic policy and start ordering face-to-face work in the office again from Monday (7).
Musk, the world’s richest man and founder of Tesla and SpaceX, has taken over the social network on a promise to turn it into a “platform for free speech around the world.” The billionaire is a critic of Twitter’s current content moderation.
Over the course of this week, it announced other changes, such as launching an $8 monthly subscription for users who want to certify that their account is valid and receive fewer ads. Currently, verified people such as artists and reporters do not have to pay to get the Blue Seal.
Late in the morning, Musk reported that Twitter saw a sharp decline in revenue due to pressure from activists on advertisers, although nothing has changed yet in the moderation of content.
“They are trying to destroy freedom of expression in the United States,” he said.
The social network did not officially comment until early Friday afternoon.
