Report: Twitter Temporarily Closed Buildings, Suspended Badges Over Employee Sabotage Concerns
In this Wednesday Nov. 6, 2013, file photo, the Twitter logo appears on an updated phone post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
The South African billionaire sealed his acquisition of the social media platform in late October, months after legal back and forth initiated by the Tesla CEO’s concern over bot accounts delayed the purchase.Both office buildings used by Twitter and badge access granted to the company’s employees have been temporarily shuttered over concerns of worker sabotage, a newly surfaced report detailed late Thursday.Zoë Schiffer, the managing editor of tech-focused outlet Platformer, detailed in a three-part tweet that employees had indicated the building closure and suspension of badges was “effective immediately.”Although it was initially noted that an explanation for the move had not been provided by the company, it was later relayed by firm insiders that the situation partially unfolded because of concerns over the possibility of workers trying to undermine the tech giant.”We’re hearing this is because Elon Musk and his team are terrified employees are going to sabotage the company,” Schiffer wrote. “Also, they’re still trying to figure out which Twitter workers they need to cut access for.”Twitter’s office are expected to reopen on November 21, and until then – per Schiffer – workers are being instructed to “comply with company policy by refraining from discussing confidential company information on social media, with the press or elsewhere.”The latest comes as Twitter employees were faced with a Thursday deadline on whether they would be staying or parting ways with the company after being presented with new staff expectations under newly-installed CEO Elon Musk.In fact, obtained emails revealed on Wednesday that Musk had called on staffers to either be ready to work longer hours and increase their work output or exit the company with a three-month severance package before the launch of so-called “Twitter 2.0.” Employees were told to submit their responses by Thursday.
Science & Tech’Long Hours at High Intensity’: Musk Tells Twitter Workers to Become ‘Extremely Hardcore’ or Quit16 November, 16:46 GMTWith the clock ticking away toward the deadline, US media reported that chaos reigned inside Twitter as employees yo-yoed between new, somewhat confusing directives sent out by senior officials. New emails dispatched to employees indicated that Musk was appearing to soften his “hardcore” work requirements all the while informing company managers that they would be required to hold in-person meetings with employees monthly. However, managers would be fired if they allowed remote work to employees not deemed “exceptional.” Details on what constituted “exceptional” work were not outlined in the correspondence.The new emails also reportedly came as resignations began to trickle, eventually being submitted to Musk by the “hundreds.”The uncertainty of Twitter’s future operations have been under the spotlight for days, ever since the billionaire entrepreneur effectively laid off 7,500 staffers just over a week after wrapping up his $44 billion acquisition of the company. More recently, the firm was blasted after its paid verification system allowed netizens to create spoof accounts of celebrities, historical figures and politicians, among other figures. After a period of hours, the system was placed under a temporary pause.
