Rumors Swirl As Twitter Users Speculate the Platform’s Shutdown Is Imminent
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Hold onto your 280 characters because this could be the end of Twitter as we know it. Twitter offices are running amuck after new head honcho Elon Musk told employees their fate in the company laid in two hands: an “extremely hardcore” work environment with “long hours at high intensity” or to resign with three months severance, per The Verge.
According to The Washington Post, employees had until yesterday Thursday, Nov. 17, at 5 p.m. ET to make their decision. Since Thursday’s deadline, several outlets, including The New York Times, have reported that hundreds of resignations have been handed in.
Fortune Magazine tech reporter Kylie Robinson tweeted that if there’s any merit to these resignation rumors, then Twitter’s employee database will have “shrunk” by about 88% in November alone.
Has your jaw dropped yet?
To help cushion the blow, Musk’s previous return-to-office mandate was slightly reversed. If your work was deemed “an excellent contribution” by your manager, it was up to their discretion whether or not you could work from home. Hopefully, your manager thinks your work is worthy of a gold star.
RELATED: Celebrities Are Leaving Twitter Now That Elon Musk is the New Owner
Lets put this into perspective — at the beginning of this month, Twitter had 7,400 employees. Barely half way through the month, if 75% do actually stick to their decision today, the company will have shrunk by a whopping ~88%.
— Kylie Robison (@kyliebytes) November 18, 2022
If you’ve been watching this hot dumpster fire unfold, then you know Musk’s “gracious” offer was null and void as of Thursday night.
According to The New York Times, an email blast was sent out regarding office hours and employee badge access. It’s since come out that Twitter office buildings are closed and badge access is disabled until Monday.
The fall of Twitter has been the butt of jokes since Musk took over in late October. But according to The Guardian, many Twitter users think it’s only “a matter of hours or days” until the social media platform crashes for good.
The outlet also reported that the “stability of the platform” was called into question after several problem-solving engineers left the company. These individuals in particular worked on the frontlines, combating service outages and bug issues.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Musk and management were actively asking formerly fired employees to return to Twitter. So obviously, something has been brewing.
It looks like Musk got the memo wrong: it’s work smarter, not harder. Go tweet a photo of your dog or your bacon, egg, and cheese bagel while you still can. Who knows if that little bird will still be chirping by morning.
