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Elon Musk denies reports about laying off Twitter employees to avoid stock grants

Twitter's new owner Elon Musk has denied a New York Times report about laying off Twitter employees at a date earlier than November 1 to avoid stock grants due on the day. In response, Musk said, "This is false."

Elon Musk denies reports about laying off Twitter employees to avoid stock grants gcw
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First Published Oct 31, 2022, 2:07 PM IST

Elon Musk, the company's new owner, has refuted a New York Times report that said Twitter will fire staff before November 1 in order to avoid having to pay out stock awards on that day. Musk wrote, in response to a Twitter user who inquired about the layoffs, "This is false."

The New York Times reported on Saturday that Musk had mandated layoffs before November 1, when workers were supposed to get stock awards as part of their remuneration. Musk also ordered employment cutbacks across the firm, with some teams to be reduced more than others.

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According to the report, who cited unnamed persons with knowledge of the situation, the cuts may start as soon as this Saturday. According to media sources on Saturday, Musk planned further layoffs for this coming Saturday as he sacked key employees to avoid huge severance payments.

Following the completion of a highly publicised $44 billion buyout of the social media platform on Thursday, people familiar with the situation told Reuters that Musk fired Twitter Chief Executive Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal, and Chief Legal Affairs and Policy Officer Vijaya Gadde.

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He had claimed that they had misled him and Twitter's investors over the prevalence of fraudulent accounts on the site. The executives had the potential to collect parting compensation totalling almost $122 million, according to research company Equilar.

Mesnwhile, Elon Musk said in a tweet on Sunday that Twitter will change its user verification procedure. Musk tweeted that "the whole verification process is now being revamped," although he didn't elaborate on what specifically would change. According to people familiar with the situation, technology publication Platformer revealed on Sunday that Twitter is thinking about charging for the coveted blue check mark confirming the identity of the account user. 

Also Read | Elon Musk asks Twitter managers to prepare list of people to be laid off: Report

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