There are still a lot of uncertainties about what Twitter will look like under Musk’s ownership. So far, the best indication of what he wants to do with the platform comes from his own words in a press release:
“Freedom of expression is the foundation of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital public square where vital issues for the future of humanity are debated. I also want Twitter to be better than ever by improving the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has huge potential – I look forward to working with the company and the user community to unlock it,” she noted.
But about possible job cuts, he has not said anything publicly.
Musk did not make a similar presentation of his plans and ideas, including the layoffs, to Twitter’s board, according to a person familiar with the matter. The board evaluated the deal primarily on its price, relative to Twitter’s own model of its future financial performance, the person added.
Twitter said in its quarterly report that it made $1.2 billion in revenue in the first quarter, slightly below estimates. The 16% increase in sales, which meant one of the worst quarters in two years.
Still, Twitter’s performance is in line with reports from Snap and Meta that they are grappling with lower ad spending due to issues with supply chains, inflation and the ongoing war in Ukraine.