Tesla vs Twitter: Where is Elon Cutting Jobs During Recession

Elon Musk was planning to cut 75% of jobs after the Twitter buyout, recently he said he has no such plans

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose US$44 billion deal for the Twitter buyout is on track to close on Friday, has reportedly revealed his plans for the social media employees after he takes over the company. There were rumors that Elon Musk was planning to cut 75% of jobs after the Twitter buyout. Recently, Elon Musk told Twitter employees at the company's San Francisco office that he has no plans to lay off 75% of employees at the company once he takes over, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The statement directly contradicts what Musk told prospective investors just six days ago. Even if the Tesla CEO doesn't cut 75% of the company's workforce, layoffs are still expected in the wake of his takeover, sources told Bloomberg.

According to the report, Musk told prospective investors who may back his Twitter purchase that he plans to lay off nearly three-fourths of Twitter's employee base of 7,500 workers, leaving the company with a skeleton crew. The report had cited documents and unnamed sources familiar with the deliberations. However, Twitter denied the layoff reports and quickly clarified to its staff after the report came out, stating that there are no plans for company-wide layoffs. Twitter General Counsel Sean Edgett emailed employees saying the company does not plan to issue pink slips.

High-level withdrawals including those of Ilya Brown, a vice president of product management for health, conversation, and growth, and those of Katrina Lane, a vice president of Twitter, were among some of these departures.

Due to the billionaire's prior comments about reducing Twitter's workforce, employees are still concerned that he will make staff cuts as part of the acquisition. The site may swiftly be swamped with hazardous information and spam with such a severe reduction as Musk may be contemplating; the Tesla CEO himself has stated he'll address the latter if he becomes the company's owner.

Elon Musk recently posted a tweet to Twitter advertisers, saying he was buying the company "to try to help humanity, whom I love." The billionaire said when done right, advertising can "delight, entertain and inform you." In order for that to be true, Elon Musk added, Twitter needs to run ads that are relevant to users' needs.

The billionaire is expected to close his US$44 billion deal to buy the company by today, months after he first announced his plans to acquire the social media giant. Musk has until 5 p.m. ET on October 28 to agree to the deal or face a continued trial in court.

When Musk visited the Twitter office this week, ahead of his takeover deadline, he tweeted a video of himself walking into the company's headquarters with a sink in his hands, with the caption "Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!" Completing the transaction would mark the culmination of a months-long saga that saw Elon 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 make Twitter private.

Elon Musk offered US$54.20 a share for the company and his efforts to back out of the transaction sent the shares roughly 40% below the offer price in July.