Twitter fires two senior executives, freezes hiring ahead of Elon Musk's takeover
Elon Musk's $44 billion purchase of Twitter was announced last month, but it still requires shareholder and regulatory approval.
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FollowTwitter on Thursday confirmed that it had halted hiring, and two executives are leaving Twitter as Elon Musk prepares to take over the global messaging network as a new owner.
General manager Kayvon Beykpour, who leads the research, design, and engineering at Twitter, and Bruce Falck, the head of products, both are existing; a Twitter spokesperson informed AFP.
Beykpour claimed he was expelled from the San Francisco-based technology firm. Beykpour, in his tweet, wrote, "The truth is that this isn't how and when I expected to leave Twitter, and it wasn't my decision. Beykpour is on paternity leave.
Also read: Elon Musk lined up a new Twitter CEO, may appoint soon: Report
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal "asked me to leave after informing me that he wishes to take the team in a different direction," he added.
Twitter also confirmed that it would halt all hiring except for business-critical positions beginning this week.
Elon Musk's $44 billion purchase of Twitter was announced last month, but it still requires shareholder and regulatory approval.
Also read: Elon Musk says he'll cut jobs at Twitter, make money from tweets: Reports
The takeover is expected to be completed later in 2022, with Musk, who also runs space exploration company SpaceX, and electric carmaker Tesla, serving as interim CEO.
Musk previously stated that he would lift the Twitter ban slapped on Donald Trump, claiming that removing him from the platform "alienated a large part of the country."
Musk's support for Trump's return sparked concerns among activists that Musk would "open the floodgates of hatred."
Also read: Twitter adds more users than expected amid Elon Musk’s takeover
Trump has stated that if allowed, he will not return to Twitter, instead opting for his social network, Truth Social, which has yet to gain traction.
Trump was barred from Twitter, and other online platforms after supporters enraged by his tweets and speech alleging election fraud attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a deadly attempt to prevent Joe Biden from being declared the winner of the presidential election two months earlier.
Musk reasoned that permanent Twitter bans should be uncommon and reserved for accounts that are spam, scams, or run by software "bots."
Activists have urged Twitter advertisers to boycott the service if it allows abusive and misleading posts with Musk as its owner.
The fate of Twitter's top attorney, regarded as a moral champion of the platform, has been in doubt since Musk tweeted his displeasure with the content moderation she had performed.
Also read: Elon Musk sells about $4B in Tesla stock after deciding to buy Twitter
Vijaya Gadde, the lawyer, has led efforts to combat bullying and posts that could lead to real-world harm, such as the riot at the US Capitol.
She was involved in decisions such as banning Trump and removing political advertising from the app.
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