Elon Musk's Twitter layoffs don't stop its board

Elon Musk’s long-rumored Twitter layoffs have reportedly begun. A months-long acquisition saga finally came to an end on Thursday night, when the world’s richest man finally completed his $44 billion acquisition of the popular social media platform. The acquisition began in April, when Musk disclosed that he was the company’s largest shareholder. Things then developed into serious negotiations, turned into a court case, and ended with a U-turn from Musk. During that time, the billionaire kept tweeting about his vision for the social media platform he oversees.

Immediately after the acquisition, Musk implemented some of his grand ideas for the platform, Including the immediate dismissal of several prominent board members, some of whom he has engaged in verbal spats with for months. Other plans, such as implementing Musk’s ideals of free speech and possibly lifting the ban on several divisive figures, will take at least some time, or may not happen at all. Board members are unlikely to be the only exits from Musk’s post-acquisition company.

Free speech ideals aside, let’s say Musk intends to buy from his new acquisition It’s fair to make some money. There has been speculation that Twitter’s former directors are planning significant layoffs to make the company profitable. Now that Musk is in power, those plans don’t appear to have changed. Before the acquisition was completed, Musk was rumored to be planning to lay off as much as 75% of Twitter’s current workforce — and if recent rumors are to be believed, the process leading to layoffs may have already begun.

Twitter currently has about 7,500 employees, with more than 5,000 soon to be brought to the door — although the exact number of layoffs is unclear. According to The New York Times, multiple sources “aware of the matter” said managers were tasked with drawing up lists of employees who would be cut. The layoffs will vary by division, with some areas of the company being hit harder than others, the sources also said.

Musk and his team may move quickly with layoffs and subsequent restructuring. The billionaire may be trying to complete the termination by Nov. 1, as employees are said to be receiving stock grants on that date. Musk may avoid paying extra if their work ends on Monday. Musk has not commented on Twitter’s employee restructuring since the acquisition, but we’ll likely learn more about this and other high-profile changes in the coming week.