"No News on Promised Severance Pay for Two Months" Desperate Twitter Laid-Off Workers

Elon Musk. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] About two months have passed since Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter, laid off more than half of the employees, but with no news about the promised severance pay, the laid-off workers are expressing frustration, according to foreign media including Bloomberg on the 5th (local time).

One week after acquiring Twitter, on November 4th last year, Musk sent layoff emails to more than half of the approximately 7,000 employees, totaling 3,700 people. He also announced through a Twitter post that he "offered (all employees) severance pay equivalent to three months' salary."

However, as of the 4th, two months later, the laid-off employees complained that they had not received any contact from the company regarding severance pay. Under the U.S. federal 'COBRA' system, when an employee is laid off, the employer temporarily guarantees health insurance for the employee and their family under certain conditions, but it is reported that there has been no explanation about this either.

Representatives of hundreds of laid-off Twitter employees stated, "Since the official employment termination date for many employees has passed, we expected a severance agreement from the company by now," and announced they would proceed with legal action.

Twitter has requested the San Francisco court, which has jurisdiction over the severance pay lawsuit, to dismiss the case or transfer it to a Delaware court to be handled together with other cases. They also demanded that the laid-off employees adhere to the contract terms requiring disputes with the company to be resolved through private arbitration rather than public trials.

Meanwhile, Twitter has continued austerity management since being acquired by Musk. To reduce building rental costs, office space has been reduced, supplies such as toilet paper have not been properly stocked, and commuting and meal benefits have reportedly been eliminated.