Twitter might be laying off 50% of staff as soon as this coming Friday. Twitter will also start charging $8/month for verified users, sparking an outrage. But Elon is not backing down by tweeting:
LOL. I have to give Elon credit for getting things moving so quickly right after he takes over. I also agree with him on laying off 50% people and pushing for a subscription model. Twitter doesn’t make enough revenue to support 7,500 white-collar employees. They make ~$5B of revenue per year but their current operating income is negative with no revenue growth. They need to right size their organization and find more revenue sources and Elon did just that. It takes courage to force these changes as people are going to lose their jobs and he is asking people to pay for things that were previously free. But well, we all know the status quo for Twitter doesn’t work. He has to be the bad guy and to make things happen. Kudos to him for doing it so decisively. He is inflicting some short-term pains but I believe these actions increase his odds of long term success.
Elon is working super hard. He sets high expectations for his team, basically telling them to work as hard as he does and some employees are sleeping at the office!!! I am just an onlooker. But I am inspired so far. I truly hope he makes this work, not only for their business model but also for the balance of free speech and platform moderation. Then, hopefully Facebook and Instagram can feel their ass-burned and also do better.