Twitter CEO Elon Musk wrote in a midnight email to employees that they should expect “extremely hardcore” working hours if they desire to remain at the company.
The message, which comes weeks after Musk purchased the social media platform in a $44 billion acquisition deal, occurs as he faces internal opposition to many of his changes. The world’s richest man has already reduced headcount by half and fired a handful of employees who publicly opposed him.
“Going forward, to build a breakthrough Twitter 2.0 and succeed in an increasingly competitive world, we will need to be extremely hardcore,” the email from Musk explained, according to a report from Business Insider. “This will mean working long hours at high intensity. Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade.”
Musk, who says he has worked 120 hours per week in the past but considers working 80 hours per week to be “pretty sustainable,” said days ago during an interview that his own schedule can be somewhat chaotic. “I mean, I have too much work on my plate, that is for sure. No doubt about it,” he commented. “The amount that I torture myself is next level, frankly.”
Musk said in the email that employees must assent to being “part of the new Twitter” through a Google Form by the end of the workday Thursday, or else they would “receive three months of severance.” He also hinted at further layoffs for non-technical employees who do not have an immediate impact on running the website.
“Twitter will also be much more engineering-driven,” Musk continued. “Design and product management will still be very important and report to me, but those writing great code will constitute the majority of our team and have the greatest sway. At its heart, Twitter is a software and servers company, so I think this makes sense.”
The continued dismissal of Twitter employees occurs after Musk immediately fired members of the company’s leadership upon taking control of the platform, including chief executive Parag Agrawal and legal czar Vijaya Gadde, who pushed for the suspension of former President Donald Trump and suppressed the Hunter Biden laptop story days before the 2020 election.
In recent months, Musk has also campaigned against the widespread use of remote work within his companies. The multibillionaire informed employees at electric automaker Tesla that work-from-home is “no longer” acceptable and commented on social media that those who disagree with the new policy “should pretend to work somewhere else.” During a town hall meeting with Twitter employees months before the acquisition was finalized, Musk was asked about remote work, prompting him to assert that working “on location physically” is far superior to other arrangements.
Read the full email from Musk to employees of Twitter here:
Going forward, to build a breakthrough Twitter 2.0 and succeed in an increasingly competitive world, we will need to be extremely hardcore. This will mean working long hours at high intensity. Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade.
Twitter will also be much more engineering-driven. Design and product management will still be very important and report to me, but those writing great code will constitute the majority of our team and have the greatest sway. At its heart, Twitter is a software and servers company, so I think this makes sense.
If you are sure that you want to be part of the new Twitter, please click yes on the link below:
[Google form link]
Anyone who has not done so by 5pm ET tomorrow (Thursday) will receive three months of severance.
Whatever decision you make, thank you for your efforts to make Twitter successful.
