Ever the joker, even when regular peoples’ livelihoods are at risk, Elon Musk visited Twitter HQ in San Francisco ahead of a likely buyout carrying a porcelain sink, a potential signal that he intends to make big changes that Twitter employees fear may include job cuts.
Though no deal has been formally announced, Musk has until Friday to complete the $44 billion purchase of the social media giant he has agreed to undertake to avoid a lawsuit after previously backing out on an earlier agreement to buy.
“Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” Musk wrote on Twitter, which BBC News claims is a reference to “kitchen sinking,” a business term signifying dramatic changes ahead. But given that Musk was carrying a bathroom sink and not a kitchen version, he could just as well have been asking people to reflect on the vaguely terrifying prospect of an already powerful man being on cusp of having far too much power.
Whatever Tesla CEO Musk meant, his attempt at humor won’t have done much to calm the fears of Twitter employees concerned about what the future may hold. Musk, who changed his Twitter bio to read “Chief Twit,” describes himself as a “free-speech absolutist” and wants to relax content moderation, potentially allowing former President Donald Trump back onto the platform. He has also expressed an interest in turning Twitter into something closer to China’s WeChat, a social media platform that also doubles as a market place where people can buy goods, including even Rolls Royce cars.
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Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in! pic.twitter.com/D68z4K2wq7
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2022
But more pressing for Twitter’s 7,500 employees is the real prospect of significant layoffs. The Washington Post recently claimed that Musk planned to axe up to 75 percent of the Twitter workforce, but Bloomberg reports that he told staff during his visit that the story wasn’t accurate. Some job cuts are inevitable however. The Post says it has seen internal Twitter documents that showed the company was planning a 25 percent workforce reduction even if the Musk deal didn’t go through.