Elon Musk's Twitter Layoffs Aren't Stopping With Its Board

Elon Musk's long-rumored Twitter layoffs have reportedly begun. The months-long takeover saga finally came to a conclusion on Thursday night, with the world's richest man finally completing his $44 billion purchase of the popular social media platform. The takeover began back in April when Musk revealed himself to be the company's largest shareholder. Things then progressed into serious negotiations, devolved into a court case, and ended with a U-turn on Musk's part. During that time the multi-billionaire constantly tweeted visions of what the social media platform he was in charge of would look like.

Following the takeover, Musk wasted no time implementing some of his grand ideas for the platform, including immediately firing several prominent board members, some of whom he'd been verbally sparring with for several months. Other plans, such as the implementation of Musk's free speech ideals, and the potential unbanning of several divisive figures, will at the very least take some time or may not happen at all. The board members are unlikely to be the company's only exits following Musk's takeover. 

Free speech ideals aside, it's fair to assume Musk intends to make some money from his new acquisition. There has been speculation that Twitter's former directors were planning to make large staffing cuts in an attempt to make the company profitable. Now that Musk is in charge, those plans don't seem to have changed. Before the takeover was finalized, rumors were circulating that Musk has plans to lay off as much as 75% of Twitter's current workforce – and if recent rumors are to be believed, the process that leads to those layoffs may have already started.

Twitter currently has around 7,500 employees, and over 5,000 could soon be shown the door — though the exact number of layoffs isn't known yet. According to The New York Times, multiple sources who have "knowledge of the matter" say managers have been tasked with drawing up lists of employees that are set to be made redundant. The sources also claim the cuts will vary by department, with some areas of the company being hit harder than others.

Musk and his team may be moving quickly with the layoffs and subsequent restructuring. The billionaire might be attempting to complete the terminations by November 1, as employees are allegedly set to receive stock grants on that date. If their employment ends by Monday, Musk is probably going to avoid making an additional payout. Musk hasn't commented on the staff restructuring situation at Twitter since his takeover, but we're likely to know more about that along with other high-profile changes in the coming week.