'No choice', says Musk as he justifies massive layoffs at Twitter
New York (PTI): Amid massive layoffs at Twitter across the world, including in India, and the subsequent backlash, the microblogging site's new owner Elon Musk on Saturday justified the move, saying there was "no choice" when the company was losing millions of dollars daily.
The company posted a net loss of USD 270 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2022 compared to a profit of USD 66 million in the same period a year ago.
"Regarding Twitter's reduction in force, unfortunately, there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day," Musk tweeted, adding, "Everyone who exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required."
Hundreds of employees were handed the pink slips at Twitter on Friday as Musk, 51, started overhauling the social media platform which he bought for a whopping USD 44 billion late last month.
In a letter to employees obtained by multiple media outlets on Friday, the company said employees would find out by 9 am Pacific Standard Time if they had been laid off. The email did not say how many people would lose their jobs.
Some employees tweeted early Friday that they had already lost access to their work accounts.
Twitter has also fired the majority of its over-200 employees in India. Sources said that the layoffs are across engineering, sales and marketing, and communications teams.
However, there is no clarity yet on the severance package to be paid to employees laid off in India.
The entire marketing and communications department in India has been sacked, the sources said.
Musk has blamed activists for a significant drop in the company's revenues.
"Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers; even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists. Extremely messed up! They're trying to destroy free speech in America," Musk tweeted on Friday.
Twitter's roughly 7,500 employees have been expecting layoffs since Musk took the helm of the company. After he completed the acquisition of Twitter, Musk ousted CEO Parag Agrawal, legal executive Vijaya Gadde, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and General Counsel Sean Edgett. He also removed the company's board of directors and installed himself as the sole board member.
Musk has also announced Twitter will charge USD 8 (around Rs 660) per month from verified (blue tick) accounts -- triggering intense debate on the social media platform.
The firm is reportedly laying off 3,738 people out of its total headcount of 7,500 across the globe.
Meanwhile, several Twitter employees on Thursday night filed a class action lawsuit alleging that Twitter is in violation of the federal and California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) after laying off some employees already, CNN reported.
The WARN Act requires that an employer with more than 100 employees must provide 60 days' advance written notice prior to a mass layoff affecting 50 or more employees at a single site of employment.
"Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, has made clear that he believes complying with federal labour laws is trivial," Attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan, who filed the lawsuit, said in a statement to CNN, adding, "We have filed this federal complaint to ensure that Twitter be held accountable to our laws and to prevent Twitter employees from unknowingly signing away their rights."
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Karnataka leads in AI: Minister Priyank Kharge at Impact Summit
Bengaluru (PTI): Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday highlighted the state’s leadership in AI and deep technology while engaging with global industry leaders and startups at a four-day summit held in New Delhi, officials said.
During the event, Priyank witnessed the signing of a strategic MoU between H Company and St John’s Medical College & Research Institute, Bengaluru, to pilot advanced enterprise AI for hospital operations and workflow automation, strengthening responsible AI in healthcare, the minister’s office said in a statement here.
Speaking on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit, the minister said Karnataka is ahead of the curve in AI.
“We are already home to leading global AI players such as Harvey AI and Anthropic, and The Walt Disney Company is expanding its AI network in Bengaluru,” he added.
Noting Bengaluru’s position among the top global cities for AI talent, he added, “Under our DeepTech Decade, we are supporting startups with grants of up to Rs 1 crore. We are engaging with global leaders and innovators to ensure responsible AI use, build the right skill sets, create strong incubators, and establish Centres of Excellence that can foster startups and strengthen e-governance.”
The minister also attended a roundtable organised by the US-India Business Council (USIBC), where discussions focused on strengthening technology collaboration, investment partnerships, and innovation-led growth between Karnataka and global enterprises.
He met Timo Harakka, Member of Parliament of Finland, to explore possibilities for collaboration between Karnataka and Finland in AI and deep-tech sectors, including joint research, innovation partnerships, and startup exchanges.
The Karnataka IT Minister also visited the Indian Army showcase at the summit, which featured advanced AI-driven defence and strategic technology applications, highlighting the role of AI in national security and modernisation efforts.
He toured the Karnataka Pavilion and the ArtPark Pavilion, interacting with founders and teams from Karnataka’s innovation ecosystem and reviewing emerging AI and deep-tech solutions, the statement added.
