Sources: some internal estimates show 1,200+ full-time Twitter employees resigned on November 17; Twitter previously laid off ~3,700 of 7,500 staff

Mr. Musk sent emails on Friday asking to learn about Twitter's underlying technology as key infrastructure teams have been decimated.

New York Times 2022-11-19

Context & Ripple Effects

Twitter had already planned to eliminate roughly half its workforce and then had to ask dozens of laid-off employees to return after discovering that some were needed for product work or had been dismissed in error. The reported November 17 departures therefore deepen an existing staffing reversal rather than simply extending the initial cuts.

The immediate concern is concentrated in infrastructure knowledge: Musk's requests for explanations of Twitter's underlying technology follow the loss of teams responsible for keeping core systems understood and maintained. Subsequent coverage of recruiting in engineering and sales underscores how quickly the company moved from reduction to replacement.

First-order effects

Twitter loses more full-time staff after the prior layoffs, further reducing the internal capacity available to maintain and explain its underlying infrastructure to Musk.
Musk and Twitter's remaining technical leaders must identify which departed employees held critical system knowledge while key infrastructure teams are already depleted.

Second-order effects

Twitter's stated return to recruiting puts it in competition for engineering and sales hires while it is also trying to restore roles it had recently eliminated.
The earlier employee recalls and the new resignations make headcount alone a weak measure of Twitter's operating capacity: the scarce resource is personnel with platform-specific knowledge.

Third-order effects

Later internal records showing about 1,300 active employees, including fewer than 550 full-time engineers, suggest a durable shift toward operating Twitter with a far smaller technical organization than before the acquisition.
If repeated cuts, recalls, resignations, and recruiting persist, Twitter's workforce model becomes less a one-time cost reduction than a cycle of rebuilding critical capabilities after they have been removed.

The trend: Twitter's post-acquisition restructuring is turning headcount reduction into a test of how much platform-specific engineering knowledge a social network can shed before it must rebuild it.

Discussion

@mosquitocapital @mosquitocapital on x
I've seen a lot of people asking “why does everyone think Twitter is doomed?” As an SRE and sysadmin with 10+ years of industry experience, I wanted to write up a few scenarios that are real threats to the integrity of the bird site over the coming weeks.
@zoeschiffer Zoë Schiffer on x
New email from Elon Musk to engineers: “please be prepared to do brief code reviews as I'm walking around the office.” That's it — that's the whole email.
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
Just leaving Twitter HQ code review https://twitter.com/...
@jimcramer Jim Cramer on x
I am not as worried as others that Twitter will suddenly not work... Call me bullish on @elonmusk and his desire to make this better
@nytimes @nytimes on x
Some internal estimates showed that at least 1,200 full-time employees resigned from Twitter on Thursday. Some core teams are down to zero people. Elon Musk is also considering shuttering one of the company's three main U.S. data centers. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitt…
@crulge @crulge on x
this isn't a code review lol this is someone trying to explain to elon musk the basic architecture of how twitter works, something you'd think he'd have figured out at some point in the past six months https://twitter.com/...
@great_job_laur Lauren on x
well it finally happened: i've finally been fired after 6 great years on the twitter HR team where i specialized in throwing job applications from straight white males right into the trash. i have already received offers from nike, meta, apple, disney, and the lincoln project
@goofrider @goofrider on x
Your mission, if u choose to accept it, is to break into the bldg u work for and fight your way to the 10th floor to deliver screenshots of your own code to Elon. There'll be a level boss on every floor, including Jason Calacanis, David Sacks, Alex Spiro, Luke Simon, and more. ht…
@justinbaragona Justin Baragona on x
How are things going at Twitter right now? One worker couldn't quit for two days because she wasn't sure who her manager was anymore due to all the resignations. After she found out, she handed in her resignation. The supervisor quit the day after. https://www.nytimes.com/... htt…
@rmac18 @rmac18 on x
Twitter employees who resigned yesterday and opted out of working for Musk's hardcore “Twitter 2.0” are finally being logged out of the company's systems now, almost 24 hours after yesterday's 2 pm PT decision deadline. Many were still able to access email and Slack this morning.
@cliffordlevy Cliff Levy on x
Twitter's “core services” team, which handles computing architecture, was cut to 4 people from more than 100. Twitter's command center, a 20-person group crucial to preventing outages during high-traffic events, had multiple people resign. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@stokel @stokel on x
SCOOP: Ex-Twitter staff are thousands of dollars out of pocket for expenses incurred before they were fired. No one is around to pay them. By me and @kyliebytes for @FortuneMagazine (Told you there was another one.) https://fortune.com/...
@oliverdarcy Oliver Darcy on x
Current and former Twitter employees keep describing the eerie feeling inside the company today. “Quiet today,” one source says, noting the exception was Elon's series of emails. “It's a morgue,” another tells me.
@mikeisaac @mikeisaac on x
one thing: a few lines of thought in how twitter could “break” — some technical folks think it will be a slower degradation of services over time as there are just not enough people to deal with issues as they pop up — still the possibility of “going down” under heavy stress
@rmac18 Ryan Mac on x
Looks like ~1,200 people (so far) have had their resignations processed at Twitter. Some core teams are down to 0 folks. And Musk is thinking about shutting down the company's main data center. Cool! (latest w/ @MikeIsaac, @Kellen_Browning @kateconger) https://nytimes.com/...
@robinw @robinw on x
To the team and my clients....you were always my first and only priority. 🫡
@scottmonty Scott Monty on x
Working with chaos monkey is bananas. 🍌 😜 🙊 https://twitter.com/...
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
Notable. She appeared to have stepped down a week ago, then was persuaded to stay. Now it looks like she's legit left (at least that's how I'm reading this).. Interim head of advertising. Means both people with Elon on that Spaces for advertisers are now gone. https://twitter.com…
@reckless Nilay Patel on x
He just knows how to win, folks https://www.theverge.com/...
@zoeschiffer Zoë Schiffer on x
NEW: Email from Elon to the engineering team: “Anyone who can actually write software, please report to the 10th floor at 2pm today. Before doing so, please email me a bullet point summary of what your code commits have achieved in the past 6 months” 1/
@zoeschiffer Zoë Schiffer on x
NEW: Twitter just alerted employees that effective immediately, all office buildings are temporarily closed and badge access is suspended. No details given as to why.
@kateconger Kate Conger on x
Musk just asked all software engineers to come to an in person meeting today. Beforehand, they're supposed to email him screenshots of their recent code.
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
And ... we just hit another all-time high in Twitter usage lol
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
https://twitter.com/...
@kyliebytes Kylie Robison on x
What I'm hearing from Twitter employees; It looks like roughly 75% of the remaining 3,700ish Twitter employees have not opted to stay after the “hardcore” email. Even though the deadline has passed, everyone still has access to their systems.
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
@stoolpresidente The best people are staying, so I'm not super worried
@zoeschiffer Zoë Schiffer on x
Elon Musk is also asking for up 10 screenshots of the “most salient lines of code” from Twitter engineers 2/
@zoeschiffer Zoë Schiffer on x
NEW: The designers leading Elon Musk's Blue verified project are out, along with the lead web engineer. Many Twitter employees who maintained critical infrastructure have resigned. This is going to look like a very different company tomorrow.
@karaswisher Kara Swisher on x
A few things: 1. Depending on how much critical staff has left & where — it's possible tho not probable the service could shut down at any time & for a short or long time. Relax as it used to do this a lot with the dreaded fail whale logo (see old & new one). It usually restores.…
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
How do you make a small fortune in social media? Start out with a large one.
@dimeford Pete Haas on x
Ex-Twitter employees pitching investors next week. #RIPTwitter https://twitter.com/...
@alexeheath Alex Heath on x
Hearing from multiple employees that the odds of Twitter breaking in the near future are very high.
@hayskali Kali Hays on x
Sooo I'm told by two people that the entirety of Twitters payroll department has resigned/not elected to sign up for Elons Twitter 2.0
@mattbinder Matt Binder on x
all the why Elon Musk bought Twitter theories are overthinking it. it's simple. Musk is in a right wing filter bubble. he bought Twitter believing their problems were real & that others felt the same this is what happens when you have a lot of money & live in fantasy land
@dmofengineering @dmofengineering on x
From: @twittereng To: @elonmusk Subject: https://twitter.com/...
@peterclowes Peter Clowes on x
Why I left @twitter or rather why I did not sign up for “extremely hardcore” Twitter 2.0 🧵
@_cingraham Christopher Ingraham on x
Reporting a murder https://twitter.com/...
@kenchengcomedy @kenchengcomedy on x
banks in 1929: well look at how many people want to visit our banks right now https://twitter.com/...
@gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x
Scoop: I am hearing far fewer than expected devs hit “yes”. Elon sent out an email relaxing remote working from the former draconian policy. I'm hearing he is having meetings w top engineers to convince them to stay. Sounds like playing hardball does not work. Ofc it doesn't. htt…
@kyliebytes Kylie Robison on x
TLDR on my scoop here: Preliminary data shows 1,000 -1,200 employees have resigned. Musk sent three (3!!!) emails to staff this morning asking them to bring their code for a technical interview with him. He'd appreciate it if they flew out to HQ for it. https://fortune.com/...
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
What should Twitter do next?
@heerjeet Jeet Heer on x
I hope this site survives. It's a lot of fun. https://twitter.com/...
@gianmarcosoresi Gianmarco on x
Imagine people who died on the titanic finding out we compared that to this
@_elizabethmay @_elizabethmay on x
“i'm gonna sink this site” https://twitter.com/...
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
@WholeMarsBlog Record numbers of users are logging in to see if Twitter is dead, ironically making it more alive than ever!
@loudmouthjulia Julia Alexander on x
Thinking about this @reckless thought today. Remove the hysteria and the memes and the understandable emotional reaction to what's happening here, and this feels like the most accurate approach to how our relationship with sites and platforms should exist. https://twitter.com/...
@anthonyha Anthony Ha on x
Gonna be real anticlimactic if Twitter's death looks more like a website getting shittier and shittier every day, rather than a glorious fiery crash
@mollyjongfast Molly Jong-Fast on x
It's time to consider the very real possibility that he is not a genius https://twitter.com/...
@jenmsft @jenmsft on x
Guess we're gonna find out https://twitter.com/...
@scottjshapiro @scottjshapiro on x
This guy has never gotten anything right. I'm gonna miss him. https://twitter.com/...
@rk Ryan King on x
Fifteen years(!) and two days after its original launch, I am re-launching https://istwitterdown.com/ Blog post with more context: https://theryanking.com/...
@peterclowes Peter Clowes on x
I left because I no longer knew what I was staying for. Previously I was staying for the people, the vision, and of course the money (lets all be honest). All of those were radically changed or uncertain.
@kofie @kofie on x
Me and the homies trying to figure out how Pinterest work https://twitter.com/...
@alexeheath Alex Heath on x
Am hearing the number of Twitter resignations today is likely over 1,000, though unclear as not all are posting their decision. Some teams, such as the engineering team that manages Twitter's core system libraries, are completely gone now. https://www.theverge.com/...
@tweetsbyparker Parker Lyons on x
💙🫡 https://twitter.com/...
@nitashatiku Nitasha Tiku on x
!!! “I know of six critical systems (like ‘serving tweets’ levels of critical) which no longer have any engineers,” “There is no longer even a skeleton crew manning the system. It will continue to coast until it runs into something, and then it will stop.” https://www.washingtonp…
@piersmorgan Piers Morgan on x
Could all the people currently whining about ‘the death of Twitter’ since @elonmusk bought it... just leave Twitter?
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
🏴‍☠️
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
musk spent Thursday in meetings across different divisions of Twitter, making personal appeals to the *many* employees attempting to resign. His pitch, paraphrased: “I know how to win. If you want to win, stay and work for me.” w/@RMac18 https://www.nytimes.com/...
@cz_binance @cz_binance on x
The more successful you are, the more people FUD about you. FUD makes you stronger, not weaker. https://twitter.com/...
@zackbornstein Zack Bornstein on x
simply unforgivable that elon is forcing me to either get hot (instagram), get annoying (substack), learn what a server is (mastodon), or become an actual psychopath (linkedin)
@alexeheath Alex Heath on x
Word inside Twitter is that A LOT of employees are not saying “yes” to staying at Musk's “extremely hardcore Twitter 2.0.” He has been meeting today with engineers to convince them to stay. His deadline to decide to stay or leave expired 6 min ago. https://www.theverge.com/...
@jenplusplus @jenplusplus on x
I resigned today from my job at Twitter. I have nothing but love and admiration for the incredibly kind and talented people I have worked with over these past 4 years. #LoveWhereYouWorked 💙
@eliothiggins Eliot Higgins on x
Twitter dying would be a really big blow to the open source investigation community. It really enabled a lot of sharing of information and collaboration that led to real impact. Bellingcat wouldn't have been able to build an audience without it.
@marcoarment Marco Arment on x
Hot take, if your code looks especially noteworthy in a few screenshots, it's probably too clever, and not ideal as part of a large team or a large-scale, high-stakes service https://twitter.com/...
@kyliebytes Kylie Robison on x
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%.
@peteryared Peter Yared on x
Pretty clear a bunch of engineers were not writing code, the codebase is patched crap, and the strategy will be keep the lights on while accelerating a rewrite. Probably looking to acquire something like farcaster rn.
@zoeschiffer Zoë Schiffer on x
Elon Musk and his team have a list of Twitter employees who signed the offer indicating they want to stay at Twitter 2.0. Those names are in a spreadsheet. Now they're trying to figure out who's NOT on the sheet, who is on parental leave, who's actively resigning in Slack...
@johnbiggs John Biggs on x
Elon: You take the blue pill—the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill—you stay in Wonderland, and I show you... Twitter workers: *jump out the window* Elon: Uh
@mikurubaeahina Victoria Scott on x
this is the most insane request I've ever seen. this is like saying, I run a car company, bring me the most critical individual parts on my desk so we can cut out everything els-oh my GOD wait a second https://twitter.com/...
@fawfulfan Matthew Chapman on x
Reminder that Elon Musk has not worked as a software engineer since the 1990s and even most biographies that fawn all over him admit that the codebase he wrote at Zip2 was worthless. https://twitter.com/...
@derektmead @derektmead on x
Allocating inventory to an ad buyer whose promoted tweet has apparently been blocked for copyright violations is a new one for me https://twitter.com/...
@evacide Eva on x
Wait a minute, didn't Elon lock all of the offices, disable badges, and tell everyone not to come in until Monday just last night? https://twitter.com/...
@tomcoates Tom Coates on x
Quick suggestion to Twitter employees considering leaking information - make sure you or someone else posts a copy of any e-mail to the internal slack—which cannot be against any rules—and then you have plausible deniability if the leak has any unusual formatting stuff in it.
@kentremendous Ken Tremendous on x
I like this approach. Anyone who can write jokes come over to my office at 2 PM so we can make a TV show. https://twitter.com/...
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
Hearing that Vine reboot is indeed one of the things on today's agenda at Twitter HQ (that magical place that's open, then closed, then open again). Flashback: https://t.co/XL6kdZnGMY
@matthew_d_green Matthew Green on x
The Elon-stans aren't sure whether Twitter's an amazingly well-engineered product that will hold up just beautifully under profound maintenance neglect, or if Twitter engineers are lazy and incompetent and couldn't engineer their way out of a paper bag.
@gmfz_resists @gmfz_resists on x
@ZoeSchiffer https://twitter.com/...
@tomcoates Tom Coates on x
Seriously, this whole fucking thing is ridiculous. “I fired half your peers, and then over half of what's left quit, and now I demand you send me screenshots of code so I can..” what?! I mean FFS. Whole thing is beyond incompetent.
@gruber John Gruber on x
So either (a) the offices aren't closed until next week, or (b) getting to the 10th floor is an interview puzzle to keep your job? https://twitter.com/...
@iancoldwater Ian Coldwater on x
This thread speaks truth. This site may be running right now, but when it goes, it's gonna go. That is not an if. That is a when. Make whatever backups you need. Exchange contact info. Make a plan. https://twitter.com/...
@lexnfx Alexei Oreskovic on x
Scoop via @kyliebytes — Elon Musk orders all coders to show up at Twitter HQ Friday afternoon, after data suggests 1,000 -1,200 employees have resigned https://fortune.com/...
@justinwolfers Justin Wolfers on x
We're finally going to see a Musk product in self-driving mode.
@mattbinder Matt Binder on x
Elon Musk recently deleted a tweet claiming Twitter was the largest driver of traffic in the internet this is nowhere near true! why did he believe this? because his right wing bubble is obsessed with this platform. he believed it's outsized importance because of them. https://tw…
@themaxburns Max Burns on x
Yesterday, Musk announced Twitter offices would be closed until Monday. Less than 12 hours later, he's calling all engineers into the office. https://twitter.com/...
@jon_prosser Jon Prosser on x
elon: no one is allowed in the offices! also elon: meet me in the office https://twitter.com/...
@goldman Jason Goldman on x
Our guy is out here reviewing code like he's ordering an appetizer sampler for the table https://twitter.com/...
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
I'm reading this email and the part where he goes, “please email me a bullet point summary of what your code commits have achieved in the past ~6 months, along with up to 10 screenshots of the most salient lines of code” ... like WHAT https://twitter.com/...
@nickkristof Nicholas Kristof on x
Then again, funerals are often large gatherings. https://twitter.com/...
@bgurley Bill Gurley on x
This is also why everyone rooting for Twitter to “functionally fail” are going to be disappointed. The company had 1,000 employees in 2012 and had 200 MAUs. And the systems are way better now. If they go back to that count they will survive. You are NOT seeing the “fail whale.”
@calthalas Mateusz Fafinski on x
Twitter will not end. As a consequence of internal conflict, it will gradually transform into a series of successor polities, driven by the idea of Twitterness. There will also survive an East Twitter that, weakened by the onslaught of new social media, will continue its legacy.
@rickymar49 Ricardo Martinez on x
Elon when he becomes the only employee at Twitter HQ https://twitter.com/...
@lizzadwoskin Elizabeth Dwoskin on x
Reminder that in some of the documents we reported on weeks ago, Elon's plan was always to get Twitter's staff to just 10% of what it was before acquisition through firings and creating an environment in which massive attrition would take place
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
Ex-Twitter employee @peterclowes on why he left Twitter hits a bunch of the points I've mentioned before. 1. No compelling vision for the product besides squeezing money out of power users. 2. Work in crunch mode for limited to no financial upside. 3. Laid off too many, too fast.…
@justin Justin Williams on x
These people who think he's playing 4D chess are the new QAnon class. They keep deciphering his shit looking for hidden meaning or genius when the reality is much more simple: the motherfucker is just really that dumb. https://twitter.com/...
@antoniogm Antonio García Martínez on x
What Elon is doing is a revolt by entrepreneurial capital against the professional-managerial class regime that otherwise everywhere dominates (including and especially large tech companies), and that same PMC (which includes the media) is treating it as an act of lèse-majesté.
@richsignorelli Richard Signorelli on x
My advice to save @Twitter: Hire a competent CEO Bring back key employees/stop trashing them Extricate yourself from running the company Stop tweeting crazy 💩that alienates creators Separate yourself from deranged RW consp theories Replace your enabling advisors who are using u h…
@samadlerbell Sam Adler-Bell on x
Say what you will about Elon's management style, but before he took over all you guys posted was “ugh another day on this hell site” and now you're all like “ah twitter the extraordinary place where I met all my best friends, started my career, had sex for the first time”
@cwarzel @cwarzel on x
i get this point and agree with the spirit of it but what it doesn't consider is that the reason people think twitter is going to die is because there currently aren't enough technical humans to fix problems should they occur. not philosophical issue but a logistical one. https:/…
@nickbilton Nick Bilton on x
Twitter employees used to joke: “Twitter is the company that can't kill itself.” Everyone speculating Twitter might die now, it's not happening. It's like the jellyfish “Turritopsis dohrnii” which is ‘biologically immortal.’ This chaos is just part of its DNA & how it thrives.
@travisakers Travis Akers on x
From one of the remaining Twitter employees: “It (Twitter) has about a week left before it's dead.”
@alyssafarah Alyssa Farah Griffin on x
I hate the idea of Twitter potentially failing during the Iranian protests. It's played a huge role in amplifying protestors' voices & keeping their struggle front & center globally. https://twitter.com/...
@sarahkendzior Sarah Kendzior on x
What's happening to Twitter is not the same as what happened to MySpace, LiveJournal, Tumblr, or other faded sites. People gradually moved from those sites on their own accord to better options. What's happening to Twitter is a controlled demolition.
@zackbornstein Zack Bornstein on x
pre-elon twitter: pls free me from this hellsite post-elon twitter: Everyday with you all has been a gift. I owe my career, my friendships, and my marriage to this community. I've fostered compassion and activism each and everyday with you all, fighting the good fight (1/40)
@buffyblogs @buffyblogs on x
Helping Elon buy Twitter: $12 billion Shutting down the #1 Saudi dissident platform: Priceless https://twitter.com/...
@cryptoterra Bris Angel on x
is kissinger seriously going to outlive Twitter
@anildash @anildash on x
Every single one of these dozens of items is a real threat, known to anyone who manages systems with millions (or hundreds of millions) of users, and one will pop up nearly every day. And none are issues you'd find at, say, a car company. Only a fool would ignore these risks. htt…
@mims Christopher Mims on x
True story: Twitter once tried to acquire Instagram! The two were like peanut butter and jelly. Did you know that in the old days if you posted an Insta link to Twitter, the image automatically displayed on here? Then Facebook bought Insta and killed that feature. https://twitter…
@parismarx Paris Marx on x
I know Elon Musk's whole reputation is built on taking credit for work he didn't do, but this is really taking it to another level. https://twitter.com/...
@brianstelter Brian Stelter on x
Returning to the Fail Whale era https://twitter.com/...
@chrislhayes Chris Hayes on x
Rhymes with “Schmabor is the source of all value” https://twitter.com/...
@cstross Charlie Stross on x
THREAD. (Why twitter is likely to fail hard—and probably irrecoverably—in the coming days to weeks.) https://twitter.com/...
@avi_bueno Avi Bueno on x
We should probably have a serious discussion about the ease with which a billionaire haphazardly purchased & immediately destroyed a company that employed 7,500 people and facilitated essential communication for hundreds of millions.
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
Gotta give Elon credit. He's managed to lower expectations from: “Wow, he's going to make Twitter so much better.” to “Wow, Twitter's still online.”
@karaswisher Kara Swisher on x
Business as traffic accident is not, per se, a winning formula. https://twitter.com/...
@kaderariz @kaderariz on x
At least 30% of all my feed is now the worst ads I have ever seen. This is probably how the world will look after the rapture
@daithaigilbert David Gilbert on x
As @dellcam discovered, Twitter seems to be stopping users from posting the URL for mastodon in tweets. I just tried it and got this message https://twitter.com/...
@karaswisher Kara Swisher on x
7. Will life go on? Why yes & so may Twitter if Elon gets his head out of his red-pilled ass, focuses and stops with a performative weak sauce Trump impersonation. Even Trump sucks at being Trump these days (see last speech). In any case, you can stay or go. It's a free Internet.…
@gartenberg Michael Gartenberg on x
Banks who loaned Musk money for Twitter spending this afternoon writing down their loans before the weekend.
@michaelvirks Michael Virks on x
@ZoeSchiffer Good to hear that Elon Musk has reached the John-McAffee-on-homemade-psychadelics- in-Belize stage of paranoia so quickly
@derflecha Der Flecha on x
A new wave of Twitter employees began posting farewells Thursday, after the deadline passed on an ultimatum Elon Musk issued for them to commit to “long hours at high intensity” or leave https://www.wsj.com/...
@daithaigilbert David Gilbert on x
This tweet from @ZoeSchiffer about more departures from Twitter shows up on her timeline, but, when you click through to it, it disappears.....is this a glitch? Or similar to the situation when people who shared a tweet from @oneunderscore__ were locked out of their accounts? htt…
@rakyll @rakyll on x
Long time from now, we'll be all gone. On the other hand, Twitter will forever be remembered as the first tool in human history that taught masses how distributed systems fail.
@kazweida Kaz Weida on x
Seems like a platform that is home to journalists but is also allowing the government who murdered a journalist to access user data might be a security and safety issue for... well... everyone. https://twitter.com/...
@espiers Elizabeth Spiers on x
I am not a management genius but if you go into a company as CEO where people already kind of distrust you, then you do a bunch of shit that makes you distrust you more, in public, and then you tell them bend the knee by 5pm or leave, it shouldn't be surprising when they leave.
@espiers Elizabeth Spiers on x
It's interesting that the narcissist who owns this site now thinks all the journalists will be lost without it—as if Twitter is their primary mode of publishing and not the publications they write for, which is why he hates them.
@wickman Brian Wickman on x
after 12 1/2 hardcore years: gun, badge, flair 👋🏻 https://twitter.com/...
@shashj Shashank Joshi on x
Update: we've entered the “40-mile convoy is stuck outside Kyiv” phase of the take-over. https://twitter.com/...
@dmofengineering @dmofengineering on x
Hi, distributed systems engineer here. Systems like Twitter are both resilient, and fragile. https://twitter.com/...
@dmitryopines Dmitry Grozoubinski on x
Some Twitter employees didn't want to stick around working 80+ hour weeks in “extremely hardcore” mode failing to develop imaginary engineering solutions to commercial and political problems as their boss alternates between publicly abusing them and making those problems worse?
@over_rated @over_rated on x
“He was asking his employees to work just 80 hours a week? What an amateur! It should have been more.” - Most managers in Indian companies
@alexhern @alexhern on x
“You're saying you know more about running a business than the man who build the Hughes aircraft company? Who broke multiple airspeed records? Who produced Scarface and The Racket? Now shut up and help me put these tissue boxes on my feet to keep out the germs
@snazzyq Quinn Nelson on x
Elon Musk is pretty much like Steve Jobs with the difference being that Steve Jobs was competent.
@chrislhayes Chris Hayes on x
Many people are saying Elon Musk should run for RNC chair.
@frankieboyle @frankieboyle on x
I suppose without Twitter everyone will just take this behaviour into real life and get punched in the head a lot
@nettaaaaaaaa Johnetta Elzie on x
Lying until the end is wild 😭 https://twitter.com/...
@rmac18 @rmac18 on x
*people gather in my yard to watch my house burn* me: wow, i've never had this many visitors before
@zoeschiffer Zoë Schiffer on x
Offices will reopen on November 21st. In the meantime: “Please continue to comply with company policy by refraining from discussing confidential company information on social media, with the press or elsewhere.”
@brayniac Brian on x
After 8+ years, I still don't know what to say in this Tweet. It was one hell of a ride and a highlight of my career. 🫡💙 #LoveWhereYouWorked https://twitter.com/...
@mehdirhasan Mehdi Hasan on x
Think of people around the world tonight who need Twitter to get their voices heard, to document human rights abuses and injustices, to get attention, expose war crimes, and more. All of them could be about to be cut off because the world's richest man wanted to own the libs.
@peterbrannen1 @peterbrannen1 on x
If Twitter crashes and you need to find me, the hell you will. I've got a two day head start on you, which is more than I need. I speak a dozen languages, know every local custom, I'll blend in, disappear, you'll never see me again.
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
Apropos of nothing in particular. But including contractors Twitter had over 13k people. https://twitter.com/...
@bgurley Bill Gurley on x
One of the reasons companies routinely do 3 layoffs instead of one is they are almost all afraid to “cut too much.” They fear “hitting bone.” But they VASTLY underestimate how resilient companies actually are. Companies endure. (More).
@rmac18 Ryan Mac on x
Pink Floyd's “Wish You Were Here,” employees signing off a video call while Musk is pitching his vision, a wave of 🫡 emojis. Inside Decision Day at Twitter where hundreds of people may have just resigned. (w/ @MikeIsaac, @dmccabe & @kateconger) https://www.nytimes.com/...
@augustjpollak August J. Pollak on x
Imagine being so unbelievably stupid that you dropped $44 billion on a company almost entirely to exert a display of your own ego and power to its employees and in doing so accidentally unionized them https://twitter.com/...
@jasonschreier Jason Schreier on x
No, Twitter probably won't just disappear tomorrow. What seems far more likely as a result of the staff exodus is that the site becomes much less pleasant to use — weird bugs, more spam, frequent crashes — and so people just stop logging on. Hopefully a viable alternative emerges…
@turmshrub @turmshrub on x
(dming a mutual I made this week my full legal name) hey man hit me up. i consider you one of my closest friends
@satanjeev Satanjeev Banerjee on x
And just like that, after 12 years, I have left Twitter. I have nothing but love for all my fellow tweeps, past and present. A thousand faces and a thousand scenes are flashing through my mind right now - I love you Twitter and I'll forever bleed blue 🫡💙
@g4ys0n @g4ys0n on x
https://twitter.com/...
@brndxix @brndxix on x
this is unemployed peoples 9/11
@ildannymoore Daniel Moore on x
I worry less about the site permanently going down and more about how everything that's happening may result in a horrifying security incident
@0xfoobar @0xfoobar on x
if ftx can run profitably on 30 employees then why does twitter need 7500
@markos Markos Moulitsas on x
Prediction: Musk gets tired of owning the libs by destroying Twitter, unloads it for pennies on what he paid, and someone else brings it back to life. If not, someone will replicate it
@buccocapital @buccocapital on x
Rumor is 75% rejected Elon's “extremely hardcore” proposal Would mean 88% of the company has left/been fired Honestly if he keeps this thing running with 10% of the staff, long enough to rebuild it, that would be bonkers More likely this place explodes. Nice knowing you all
@wholemarsblog @wholemarsblog on x
I was laid off from Twitter this afternoon. I was in charge of managing drinks in the Kitchen. Elon walked in and asked how many Red Bulls we had left. Then he made everyone who wanted to keep their job shotgun a red bull so they could prove they were “hardcore”. Most just left
@alexvoica @alexvoica on x
Since @elonmusk asked Twitter employees to be “extremely hardcore” or leave, a lot of people have asked me what it really means to be hardcore. I've spent more than a decade in the hardcore scene surrounded by engineers, so here's a brief explainer. https://twitter.com/...
@esqueer_ Alejandra Caraballo on x
I don't think Twitter will last through the weekend. Twitter is restricting employee access to all its buildings through the weekend with no reason given. The entire android team resigned. The world cup,the largest sporting event in the world, starts this weekend.
@caitlinmoran Caitlin Moran on x
SPACE KAREN
@gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x
Another sw engineer was telling me he was *really* excited when Elon took over, and could not wait to work with him. Then was confused why Elon treated Twitter so poorly. Eg didn't even talk with staff. Then this person was fired as part of the 50%. Why let go even supporters?
@gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x
Twitter *cannot* afford to lose that many devs and keep operating. Heck, they have barely started hiring new ones, and those hires will not come through the door for several weeks! I'm assuming Elon will have to throw money at this: - Retention bonuses - Short-term contracts
@gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x
Unless something changes, Twitter's engineering workforce could be down by 90%, in just 3 weeks (!!!). Elon fired 50%. Then fired a few more for correcting him. Now 80% of the remaining 50% could take severance. Here's what I think will happen:
@jasonschreier Jason Schreier on x
Elon Musk's ownership of Twitter may be a disaster so far, but at least he got rid of all the bot spam https://twitter.com/search https://twitter.com/...
@steinkobbe @steinkobbe on x
Elon's main issue to fix on Twitter according to him is the bots, but it's only been a couple of weeks since he took over and I'm already getting at least twice as many crypto bot replies and scams in my DMs. Weird how firing most of the content mods doesn't help fight bots
@wholemarsblog @wholemarsblog on x
Elon and George Hotz are the only two employees left at Twitter apparently
@kyliebytes Kylie Robison on x
As we're all very aware, folks on visas are stuck, so thats who makes up most of the roughly 25% (or less than 1,000....) expected to stay. The actual impact is not yet known — there have been no internal comms about what comes next. We're nearly 2 hours post deadline.
@knrd_z @knrd_z on x
Staying at a social media company 10+ years at middle six figures is, simply, middle class welfare. I realize it's frustrating because well over half the UMC workforce is welfare, but that needs to be upended too https://twitter.com/...
@akaeljefe Alex Boro on x
All people in San Francisco do at their overpaid tech jobs is eat donuts and shoot up heroin so this is no surprise https://twitter.com/...
@drwhomoment @drwhomoment on x
Twitter dies before we run out of Crazy Ass Moments in Doctor Who History. (2022) https://twitter.com/...
@kng Kelly on x
After 8.5 years, I guess it's time to say goodbye 🫡 #OneTeam #LoveWhereYouWorked
@mirpuris Sunil on x
I still remember the first day I walked into Twitter for my interview and the recruiter walked me through the commons. This was 8.5 years ago Some places and people leave an impression on your life. There have been several such moments It's been real y'all! #lovewhereyouworked 🫡 …
@zhiheng_zhang Jason Zhang on x
After a bit over 10 years and 2289 commits. I ended my watch in this bird app. #LoveWhereYouWorked https://twitter.com/...
@bionca @bionca on x
After 5 incredible years at Twitter, today I'm resigning. What a ride! Twitter was my dream job & I'm so fortunate to have lived it. Until next time, ✌🏽 & 💙. #LoveWhereYouWorked 🫡 https://twitter.com/...
@ericyamane @ericyamane on x
Today was fucking hard — after almost 4 years, I've decided to leave Twitter. Sending ❤️ to all those who decided to leave and those who will stay. It was a real privilege working with you all and I've become a better person for it. Thank you 🫡 #LoveWhereYouWorked https://twitter…
@rahaeli @rahaeli on x
The saddest thing when reading resignation tweets from #lovewhereyouworked is how many people have been at Twitter for 8, 10, 12 years. The sheer amount of institutional knowledge Elon is driving away is incalculable. Thank you to everyone who's leaving for everything you made.
@seyitaylor @seyitaylor on x
I think Elon is going to try run twitter on 10% of the staff just to prove it can be done. Honestly, I'm rooting for him simply because I like the website that much.
@nexqal Nick on x
elon musk at twitter hq https://twitter.com/...
@goodpoliticguy @goodpoliticguy on x
Elon really bought Twitter, walked in confidently like he was gonna nail this shit, fired a majority of employees, chaotically deployed shitty ideas, destroyed security infrastructure, imploded ad revenue then decided he doesn't wanna lead the company within TWO WEEKS MAN
@jaredlholt Jared Holt on x
Not sure Twitter is ending (always iffy on stuff like this involving mega corporations) but hopefully by now we can realize that just because Elon Musk and his crew are rich, it doesn't mean they are good or smart in any traditional way.
@chadloder Chad Loder on x
“Can you buy Twitter and then delete it, please? xx” — text to Elon Musk from ex-wife, March 23, 2022 https://twitter.com/...
@saberspark @saberspark on x
“maybe Elon might actually fix Twitter” 3 weeks later: https://twitter.com/...
@billym2k Shibetoshi Nakamoto on x
if twitter dies that means elon successfully fixed the bot problem
@jon_prosser Jon Prosser on x
few outcomes: 1) it's dead 2) elon sells it 3) elon humbles the fuck up and lets existing engineers run the ship, begs others to come back, and tries to rebuild either way, Twitter won't be the same
@junlper Transgender Marx on x
elon bought twitter to completely ruin the website to cause an exodus of users back to tumblr to restore it to it's once holy roman empire status of social media
@tom_winter Tom Winter on x
Twitter isn't going to disappear overnight to never be heard from people, relax. Big banks hold a ton of the debt and they will want something for their money. The site will remain online or will limp along until someone takes it over... Elon or no Elon.
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
@piersmorgan Seriously
@popcrave @popcrave on x
Elon Musk says that Twitter's best engineers are staying at the company and that he's “not super worried” about the platform shutting down. https://twitter.com/...
@mtracey Michael Tracey on x
Every day: “RIP Twitter! Site's really imploding this time” Also every day: Site basically functions as normal, Elon reports record usage
@redsteeze Stephen L. Miller on x
Guess which one is getting more attention? https://twitter.com/...
@anothercohen Alex Cohen on x
I was laid off from Twitter this afternoon. I was in charge of managing badge access to Twitter offices. Elon just called me and asked if I could come back to help them regain access to HQ as they shut off all badges and accidentally locked themselves out.
@brainiaq2000 Matt Miller on x
It's been a ride https://twitter.com/...
@zoeschiffer Zoë Schiffer on x
We're hearing this is because Elon Musk and his team are terrified employees are going to sabotage the company. Also, they're still trying to figure out which Twitter workers they need to cut access for.
@culturecrave @culturecrave on x
A projection calling Elon Musk a ‘Space Karen’ and other things is being displayed outside of Twitter's headquarters https://twitter.com/...
@gia_vang Gia Vang on x
New projection on Twitter's headquarter building now by a guy who calls himself a projection activist. #sanfrancisco https://twitter.com/...
@evleaks Evan Blass on x
If reported numbers on the two rounds of Twitter attrition to date are accurate (~50% cuts followed by ~75% refusal to sign the “hardcore” commitment by remaining staff), the company may have shrunk from ~7,500 employees to less than a thousand. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
@kfury @kfury on x
“Also, you must bring me that which is more useful when it's broken.” https://twitter.com/...
@mattblaze Matt Blaze on x
The bad things I'm worried about as Twitter implodes don't involve spectaular interruptions of service (though that will suck), but quiet data breaches and account compromises.
@derektmead @derektmead on x
Asking engineers to fly into a mystery in-person meeting today after a) locking the office and b) emailing engineers to send him screenshots of code is an accidental tip-off from the writers that this is a work https://twitter.com/...
@adambaldwin Adam Baldwin on x
The developing pattern is confirmed. Not only are newly ex-Tweeps *relieved* that they've been fired, they're posting celebratory videos! “Yay!” https://twitter.com/...
@thevivafrei Viva Frei on x
Sincere question: You have been with the company for nearly a decade. That company has paid you for nearly a decade. And you refuse to click “yes” on a commitment to working hard to make sure that company continues to succeed? Come on my channel for an interview to discuss. https…
@teamblind Blind on x
All the CEOs are secretly thanking @elonmusk No one was doing any work since 2020, remember just 6 months ago people were asking about 4 day work weeks. Finally people are showing up to work and replying to emails after the industry wide earthquake. - Autodesk employee on 🅱️
@oliverdarcy Oliver Darcy on x
Twitter has emailed staffers: “Hi, Effective immediately, we are temporarily closing our office buildings and all badge access will be suspended. Offices will reopen on Monday, November 21st. .. We look forward to working with you on Twitter's exciting future.”
@rakyll @rakyll on x
I was laid off from Twitter this afternoon. In a few hours, I had a call. Elon asked me to come back to the office and fix the SLOs to always display “100%”.
@hilakleinh3 Hila Klein on x
Footage of twitter employee stripping utilities from abandoned office https://twitter.com/...
@airlineflyer Jason Rabinowitz on x
Elon Musk: All Twitter employees must come to the office and work hardcore at all times Also Elon Musk: The office is closed because I don't know who I fired and who still works here, and for those left I don't trust you. Real galaxy brain billionaire management going on here. ht…
@probirdrights @probirdrights on x
Lock out of twitter office. can no longer pretend I have “got” mr. elons “nose” and make him cry
@goldman Jason Goldman on x
Pretty critical of my own time working at Twitter. Lot of mistakes. But then again never had to shut off all access to the office after announcing a mandatory return to the office.
@iwriteok Robert Evans on x
you are required to work in the office. also, due to fears of employee sabotage, everyone is banned from the offices. hard to see how twitter survived without this ground-breaking leadership. https://twitter.com/...
@leyawn Leon on x
my twitter badge still works lol i'm in the office chilling and eating snacks and unplugging every server i can find. and i got my three months severance
@popcrave @popcrave on x
A new projection insulting Elon Musk is currently being displayed outside of Twitter's HQ. https://twitter.com/...
@phil_lewis_ Philip Lewis on x
Meanwhile, a message projected on the side of Twitter headquarters tonight reads: “Elon Musk: mediocre manchild, pressurized privilege, petty racist, megalomaniac, worthless billionaire, bankruptcy baby, supreme parasite, petulant pimple, apartheid baby” https://twitter.com/...
@junlper Transgender Marx on x
twitter headquarters: closed until further notice the media: reporting twitters immediate collapse and less than 500 employees remaining elon musk: 🤣🤣🤣🤣

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