Elon Musk Initiates New Layoffs at X Amid Focus on US Election Campaign for Trump - Read Now
Billionaire CEO of X formerly known as Twitter Elon Musk has further announced his layoffs, only this time, it cuts in his social media department. As reported, all efforts were made to align with supporting Donald Trump campaign for US elections, as well as cuts in this engineering department, and questions are whether that is the final call for restructuring his companies or not.
Layoff in X: Engineering is Targeted
A report by The Verge revealed that the affected employees were primarily those from X's engineering department. This followed an internal process where employees were asked to submit a one-page summary of their contributions to the company. It was reportedly the requirement for stock grants that had played a great role in deciding which employee would stay and which one would be released.
Sources within workplace application Blind and inside X cited that a contribution summary demand was an essential requirement during current appraisals of its employees. Employees reportedly losing their jobs are said not to have met the criteria; however, it has not been confirmed the percentage of the number of affected workers.
There is no available public information on the issue by Musk or X in any official capacity.
Current Layoffs and Restructuring at X
A fresh wave of firings recently was announced within Musk's grand strategy for reorganizing X as he took over in 2022. So far, since his acquisition of X, he has gutted nearly 80 percent of the staff who predated him. According to reports, X axed a thousand employees last month in January 2024, allegedly focusing on most of his "Trust and Safety" unit that works hard to ban obscene material on the application. The majority were software engineers, and they were primarily concerned with problems of trust and safety that accounted for 80 percent of their work.
Major departments cut include diversity and inclusion, product development, and design. Changes the restructuring by Musk have forced on the platform in their approach to content moderation mean staff who once managed offensive posts are fewer in number due to these cuts.
Stock Options and New Employment Terms at X
Other than the layoffs, Musk recently mailed an email to X employees regarding stock grants with an attached condition tied to the stock options. This note mentioned that stock grants were going to be provided depending on the impact made by each employee's work and that this is probably performance-based in keeping up with the operational philosophy of Musk at X.
Musk manages X restructuring while maintaining campaign involvement in the US Election
Though Musk initiated these new layoffs, there has been criticism over the fact that he has also been very actively supporting Donald Trump's US election campaign. All these have led to questions about whether Musk is really a political influencer or a tech entrepreneur. Industry experts and users of the platform are giving mixed reactions about the timing of these layoffs focusing on the election campaign.
Current Challenges at X
As Musk continues to restructure X, the recent round of layoffs is another step in his quest to shape the company. Even though he is cutting departments and laying off some employees, X is interested in maintaining its platform even as it accommodates all the strategies of Musk. How these changes will affect the operations of X as well as the user experience only time will tell.
