Source: Twitter abruptly fired around 50 engineers and warned dozens more on the evening before Thanksgiving; some were told their “code is not satisfactory”

Zoë Schiffer / @zoeschiffer :

@zoeschiffer 2022-11-26 Zoë Schiffer

Discussion

@alexeheath Alex Heath on x
On the evening before Thanksgiving, some Twitter engineers received an email saying they were fired because their “code is not satisfactory.” Others received “performance warning” emails asking them to “restore our confidence and demonstrate your contributions to the team”
@gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x
Just in: the night before Thanksgiving, Twitter fired more software engineers effective immediately because their “code is not satisfactory” following the recent code review. Dozens of other devs got performance warnings in their inboxes. How much do Twitter devs have to take?
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
One of the people fired Musk's latest purge was Ikuhiro Ihara, a highly respected senior software engineer who helped lead the push to expand tweets to 280 characters. https://twitter.com/...
@gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x
As per @ZoeSchiffer, the number of fired software engineers could be around 50. These are 50 engineers who would have gotten an additional 2 months' severance had they refused to commit to the “hardcore” Twitter. Why give worse packages to those believing in “Twitter 2.0”? https:…
@gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x
One of the impacted software engineers. No reasoning. No warning. Just firing. Connect with Yiwei here if you can help him find a software engineering position: https://www.linkedin.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@mnateshyamalan Soul Nate on x
it's so fucking funny that elon musk would be like “twitter is a hardcore coding company now” and then ask engineers to email him code weekly because he doesn't know how to use github
@kirachats @kirachats on x
I'd love to see an example of this “unsatisfactory code” https://twitter.com/...
@somiskeen Trilliam Gates on x
Imagine not taking 3 months of severance but instead choosing to stay then getting fired a week later bc the code you were made to print out was deemed as insufficient to Elon so now you're out of a job and getting less in severance than the ppl who chose not to stay https://twit…
@sarah_edo Sarah Drasner on x
This is unnecessarily cruel, and will leave more cruelty in its wake as folks emulate this behavior. You can make tough business calls while showing humanity. Even if you believe this man cares about the future of humankind or whatever, what quality of life will people have? http…
@rvawonk Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D on x
Twitter increasingly sounds like a cult, not a workplace. https://twitter.com/...
@mattbinder Matt Binder on x
there were a number of news outlets that reported just two days ago that “Elon Musk said he was done with Twitter layoffs” i hope they learned their lesson https://twitter.com/...
@gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x
Oh wow: the person who fought for, and made 280 characters happen, fired over a single code review. What a shame. What a loss - for Twitter. https://twitter.com/...
@film_girl @film_girl on x
As @gruber and I discussed on The Talk Show this week: the cruelty is the point. What an absolutely sad, pathetic, and small little man. My heart goes out to anyone still stuck at Twitter. https://twitter.com/...
@dreamweasel @dreamweasel on x
Which means that Musk is merely pretending to review their code, and either: - evaluating the code based on appallingly superficial criteria, or - simply ignoring the code outright and going with the employees he likes most https://twitter.com/...
@fawfulfan Matthew Chapman on x
This is absolutely insane. Who decided their code was “not satisfactory”? Was this just a result of Musk reading the “code snippets” he demanded everyone give him? He doesn't even know any of the languages or APIs they're using, let alone best practices. https://twitter.com/...
@akivamcohen Akiva Cohen on x
We are already representing some of the fired Twitter employees (from this and other waves) Musk is trying to stiff out of their severance. So are a number of other excellent firms/attorneys. These people have options and should talk to MULTIPLE attorneys before signing anything …
@photomatt Matt Mullenweg on x
@Carnage4Life I disagree with the first. We haven't done layoffs and have worked really hard in the business to not need to. We've been able to tap the brakes and find cost savings in other ways.
@carnage4life @carnage4life on x
I now advise mentees to add the following to their job screening criteria • Avoid companies that haven't yet done layoffs yet. You could join only to be laid off in a few weeks. • Prefer working on profit centers over cost centers or speculative projects until interest rates⬆️
@nberlat Noah Berlatsky on x
translation; Musk fired people who sent him code he didn't understand. https://twitter.com/...
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
A side effect of “The beatings will continue until morale improves” culture at Twitter is that it makes no sense for H-1Bs to join the company when they can be laid off on a whim then have 2 months to find another job or be deported. https://twitter.com/...
@gailalfaratx Gail Alfar on x
@Techmeme @ZoeSchiffer Totally expected! I feel this is necessary for Twitter to rapidly evolve into what it needs to be. I like watching this fast change, and I'm happy to also see reports of people receiving a generous severance package.
@db @db on x
I mean, the colonizers DID... you know what let me stop https://twitter.com/...
@lolgop @lolgop on x
It's basically just guys who have work visas or desperately need this job at this point. And Elon just loves to torture them as he spends his days driving away any decent advertiser. https://twitter.com/...
@iamkierrad @iamkierrad on x
This is extremely nasty. People cannot even enjoy the holidays in peace. https://twitter.com/...
@treblaw Treb on x
I dunno I just think that this is such a Genius Boss Lord Dank Memer move and I love it https://twitter.com/...
@jilliancyork @jilliancyork on x
Cruelty is the point. https://twitter.com/...
@brianmfloyd Brian Floyd on x
don't know why anyone would want to work for or with this guy he sucks https://twitter.com/...
@justinbaragona Justin Baragona on x
Remember, these are the folks that opted into Musk's “extremely hardcore” Twitter 2.0 and passed on 3 months' severance. Now they get rewarded with termination on Thanksgiving eve and only 4 weeks severance. Many of those who were fired this week are here on H1B visas. https://tw…
@benjamingjw @benjamingjw on x
Wild that those who left voluntarily got 3 months of severance. But those who stayed & “believed” only get 1 month Always look out for yourself. Maximise what is beneficial for you Don't believe in the “we are a family” or “working for X company is working for your career” BS htt…
@thocpodcast @thocpodcast on x
How dumb must they feel for having clicked “Yes” to Lord Elon's “hardcore mode,” when they would've gotten an easy 3mo severance for just clicking “No” instead https://twitter.com/...
@th3j35t3r @th3j35t3r on x
Happy Thanksgiving! Lots of Love, Elon. https://twitter.com/...
@gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x
I confirmed the above details with current Twitter software engineers and managers. Line managers were unaware of the performance warnings sent out. This “performance warning” is a PIP that can result in firing. As a reminder, devs went through all this before in 3 weeks:
@gergelyorosz Gergely Orosz on x
Update: Twitter's management STILL trying to recruit back experienced software engineers who left Twitter last week, opting in to not be part of the “hardcore” Twitter 2.0. Wonder how many of them return, knowing they also can be fired at any time based on a single code review. h…
@alexeheath Alex Heath on x
These are employees who survived the 50% layoffs and opted into Musk's “extremely hardcore” Twitter 2.0 reset, which saw about 1k employees resign. Musk told employees this week that he wants to hire more people “who are great at writing software” https://www.theverge.com/...
@newley Newley Purnell on x
From Dublin to Singapore to SF, Twitter staff in government policy, legal affairs and “trust and safety” are departing the company. Regulators are watching. Story with @samschech @kimmackrael @lizalinwsj https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@bungdan Dan Murphy on x
“Brussels, where's that?” “It's in Belgium, sir.” “Where's that?” “Small country in Europe.” “Well, nothing important could possibly be going on there. Shut it down.” https://www.ft.com/...
@javierespft Javier Espinoza on x
@jumozerlia ... In a bit the EU will publish figures that show Twitter is falling behind with its efforts to comply with the disinformation code, according to people with knowledge of the research. The figures show that removals of hate speech by Twitter dropped by about 5 per ce…
@javierespft Javier Espinoza on x
@jumozerlia @BartLaNasa The executives had led the company's effort to comply with the EU's disinformation code and the bloc's landmark Digital Services Act, which came into force last week and sets new rules on how Big Tech should keep users safe online.
@ahmetasabanci @ahmetasabanci on x
This makes my scenario of Musk turning Twitter into US-only platform much more plausible. Twitter disbands Brussels office, prompting fears about online safety https://www.ft.com/...
@obrien Chris O'Brien on x
“The EC will publish figures that show Twitter falling behind with efforts to comply with the disinformation code, according to people with knowledge of the research. The figures show removals of hate speech by Twitter dropped by about 5% year on year.” https://www.ft.com/...
@tomfairless Tom Fairless on x
Interesting piece. It's striking how much of the coverage of Musk's Twitter takeover suggests he will mess up the business. Possible of course, but he doesn't have a bad track record... https://twitter.com/...
@newley Newley Purnell on x
.⁦@elonmusk⁩'s move to purge those at Twitter who don't embrace his vision has led to a wave of departures among policy and safety-issue staff around the globe, sparking questions from regulators. Story with ⁦@samschech⁩ ⁦@kimmackrael⁩: https://www.wsj.com/...
@klystrn Peter on x
Thierry Breton, EU commissioner for the internal market, “In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules.” Does this inspire anyone? Why can't bureaucrats be more collaborative? ⁦⁦@elonmusk⁩ ⁩ https://www.wsj.com/...
@samschech Sam Schechner on x
@WSJ: Twitter departures are hitting staff tasked w regulations and compliance globally—including the last two remaining people in Twitter's Brussels office and the head of public policy in Ireland. W @kimmackrael @newley @lizalinwsj https://www.wsj.com/...
@spignal Stanley Pignal on x
The only thing that infuriates the EU even more than Big Tech having lobbyists in Brussels is when Big Tech has no lobbyists left in Brussels. https://www.ft.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@bbckatyaadler Katya Adler on x
EU worries Twitter disbanding Brussels office might lead to non compliance with EU strict social media content / hate speech regulations👇 https://twitter.com/...
@tomfairless Tom Fairless on x
“I am concerned about the news of firing such a vast amount of staff of Twitter in Europe,” EU VP Vera Jourova said. “Especially in the context of Russian disinformation warfare, I expect Twitter to fully respect the EU law and honour its commitments...” https://www.ft.com/...
@mattnavarra Matt Navarra on x
Twitter disbands Brussels office prompting EU fears about online safety A new European Commission report shows Twitter is falling behind with its efforts to comply with the disinformation code. Removal of hate speech by Twitter dropped by about 5% YoY https://www.ft.com/...
@smtuffy Sean Tuffy on x
Probably nothing https://www.ft.com/...

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Source: Twitter abruptly fired around 50 engineers and warned dozens more on the evening before Thanksgiving; some were told their “code is not satisfactory”

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