Twitter for abolition: Musk wants to throw out 5,500 employees, according to report

According to a newspaper report, Elon Musk is planning a job loss on Twitter. The Washington Post reported Thursday (local time) that he had indicated to potential investors that he would reduce the number of employees in an acquisition from 7,500 to about 2,000.

The newspaper relies on insiders and confidential documents. Musk and Twitter initially did not comment.

After months of back and forth, Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter is expected to be complete by the end of next week — if trouble doesn’t break out again. The responsible judge has imposed a deadline: if the purchase is not completed by October 28, a lawsuit will follow.

The Tesla boss had actually reached an agreement about the acquisition with Twitter in April. However, in July, he voided the agreement due to alleged misrepresentations about fake accounts. Twitter sued for breach of contract of sale. At the beginning of October, Musk surprisingly renewed his purchase offer.

He did however stipulate that the lawsuit about the takeover – in which his chances were considered relatively small – would be settled. Twitter has rejected this. The company is suspicious, as Musk makes its offer contingent on financing and may still have a back door open. (sda/dpa)