Twitter might go bankrupt, warns Elon Musk after senior executives leave company
San Francisco: Elon Musk reportedly said on Thursday, barely two weeks after he bought it for $ 44 billion, that Twitter is possibly on the way to bankruptcy.
The deal over the purchase of the social media platform, according to credit experts, affected Twitter’s finances ‘negatively’, reported NDTV.
Musk is learned to have informed Twitter employees over call that the possibility of bankruptcy could not be ruled out. He is also said to have told them so after a warning from a US regulator and also the resignation of senior executives considered the future leaders of the company.
Yoel Ruth and Robin Wheeler, executives, who had been moderating a Twitter Spaces chat with Musk on Wednesday as he tried to appease advertisers, have resigned, said sources. Lea Kissner, Twitter’s chief security officer, posted on Twitter on Thursday, that she had quit.
Damien Kieran, chief privacy officer of the company, and Marianne Fogarty, chief compliance officer, too have resigned, as per an internal message to Twitter’s Slack system on Thursday by an attorney on the privacy team of the company, sources added.
On Thursday afternoon, holding his first meeting with all employees of the social media company, Musk had reportedly warned that Twitter might lose billions of dollars in the coming year. He has also said that the company is losing more than $ 4 million a day, which is attributed largely to advertisers withdrawing from Twitter since the takeover followed by the new owner’s outright firing of employees.
Twitter is now in debt of $ 13 billion, on which it faces interest payment close to $ 1.2 billion within the next one year. The payments, however, exceed Twitter’s recently disclosed cash flow, which was $ 1.1 billion, till June-end.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said that, after the resignation of three privacy and compliance officers of Twitter, it was watching the company with concern, as the loss of major hands put Twitter at a risk of violating regulatory orders.
Douglas Farrar, director of public affairs at the FTC, reportedly warned, “No CEO or company is above the law, companies must follow our consent decrees. The revised consent order of the FTC equips us ensure compliance, and we will use them if necessary.”
The FTC had alleged in May that Twitter had misused information, including phone numbers, to target advertising to users, although users were told that the information was being collected only for security purposes. The social media platform agreed to pay $ 150 million to settle the allegations.
Twitter, however, did not reply to queries on the possibility of bankruptcy, the Commission warning or resignations of executives.
While Musk, communicating with advertisers on Twitter’s Spaces feature, told the advertisers that he aimed to turn Twitter into a force of truth and put a halt on fake accounts, the advertisers don’t seem convinced.
Several brands, including General Motors and Chipotle Mexican Grill, have put a halt on their advertising on Twitter since Musk took over, reportedly concerned over the violation of moderation rules by the new head.
Chipotle Mexican Grill is learned to have said on Thursday that they would like to gain a better understanding of the platform under the new leadership.
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Ajit Pawar's funeral on Thursday; Modi, Shah likely to attend
Baramati (PTI): The last rites of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, killed in a plane crash, will be held with full state honours on Thursday in Baramati, Pune district.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are expected to attend the funeral, which will be held at Vidya Pratishthan ground at 11 AM. Leaders cutting across the political spectrum will be present, the Nationalist Congress Party said.
The plane crash occurred in the morning shortly after Ajit Pawar and four other persons took off from Mumbai.
Besides Pawar, his Personal Security Officer, an attendant, and two crew members (pilot in command and the first officer) were also killed.
Pawar is survived by wife Sunetra, a member of the Rajya Sabha, and two sons, Parth and Jay.
The state government declared a public holiday on Wednesday and announced a three-day period of state mourning.
