Twitter has been in turmoil since Elon Musk’s purchase of the company for $44 billion went through on Thursday night and he and his “goons,” as they’ve reportedly been dubbed by some Twitter staff, took over.
Staff have been working long hours to complete new assignments and develop potential updates for the app amid concerns about potential layoffs.
They’ve also been sharing the office with members of Musk’s inner circle, which includes his personal lawyer Alex Spiro, tech investor Jason Calacanis, and venture capitalist David Sacks, per media reports. The latter two have also been added to Twitter’s official staff directory, two people familiar with the changes previously told Insider.
Current and former Twitter workers have been sending each other private messages in the midst of mounting uncertainty at the company, with some staff calling Musk’s advisors “Elon’s goons,” The New York Times reported.
Meanwhile, many Twitter employees have stopped using the company’s internal systems to talk about workplace issues, and some of Twitter’s Slack channels are almost silent, staff told CNBC, attributing it to distrust following Musk’s takeover.
Musk and his team have been working from a previously unused floor in Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters, where they’ve discussed potential plans for the company’s future, Insider reported. This includes an overhaul of Twitter’s verification process and a potential reboot of video-sharing app Vine.
Many Twitter staff are concerned about their job security and are scrambling to complete tasks assigned by Musk’s team so they can keep hold of their jobs.
Despite rumors of mass layoffs circulating for months, nothing has been confirmed, however.
Although there have been reports that Musk planned to lay off a quarter of the company’s staff, a person familiar with the matter told The Financial Times that Musk planned to fire people who don’t support him as the company’s leader rather than simply laying off a certain percentage of workers from the company.
