Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter seems to be very close to closing, finally. According to reports, the tycoon would take over the company for the not inconsiderable sum of 43,000 million dollars; and during this weekend the negotiations would have advanced to the point that today, April 25, the deal could be closed – or during the course of the week. However, although much has been said about the top executives of the company, they are not the only ones who would be affected by this transaction. A report of New York Times exposes the opinions of Twitter employees, and this is what they think of the purchase.
In January 2020, Jack Dorsey, then CEO of Twitter, hosted a surprise guest as part of his keynote. When Musk appeared on the screens above the stage, the crowd cheered and cheered. Some, according to the report, even exclaimed at the top of their voices: ‘We love you!‘. Two years later, however, these exclamations turned to murmurs in corridors and offices; and it is that Twitter workers are afraid of a future where Musk is the star of his entire universe.
In fact, Twitter employees have commented on their dissatisfaction with the way news regarding the purchase has been handled. As they explain, they have heard almost nothing directly from the top management of the company; nor about how this might affect everyone in the future. Some have had to resort, ironically, to their Twitter profiles, where they have dedicated themselves to asking Parag Agrawal, CEO of the company, and even Musk himself, about all the doubts.
However, it seems that these efforts have fallen on deaf ears. Responses have been few., from those offered by executives, to those of Elon Musk. This is confirmed by 11 employees in their statements to the New York Timeswho have preferred to remain anonymous for obvious reasons.
On Sunday, Twitter’s board of directors met to discuss Mr. Musk’s offer and was said to be seriously considering it. Some employees expressed their frustrations over the continued silence on Twitter Monday morning, while others lamented in private chats.
New York Times
Twitter against its own philosophy
Twitter has earned the fame of being the ‘town square’. In this social network, anyone can comment whatever they want, even when they are opinions that are not very accurate. It is for this very reason that, if you are going to say something, you have to take into account that others have the same freedom as you and you could end up in a terrible hole. Nevertheless, it seems that behind closed doors the company does not work in the same wayand the workers have heard almost nothing about the case that does not come from rumors, or from the news published on the social network for which they work.
However, this is a fairly common procedure for all companies that are in the process of transferring powers. Right now, executives are fully focused in conversations with lawyers, public relations companies, bankers and many other institutions. Because of this, it is normal for workers to be slightly isolated during these times.
The arrival of Musk has caused great fears among the workers. In fact, they comment on their concern that this change ends up to the detriment of the strenuous days that the company and its entire team has invested in combating toxicities on Twitter. There is a reason for this, and that is the businessman has a gift for stirring the waters with his unpredictable statements and, in many cases, abrupt.
The problem is that if it becomes a very different company than the one they thought they worked for, nothing can be done. It’s an awkward working relationship.
David Larcker, professor of accounting and corporate governance at Stanford University
But the moral and ethical values of Twitter are not the only concern of the workers. There are serious questions about whether this group will also receive the blows dealt by Elon Musk’s decisions and plans for the company. Many of Twitter’s employees receive more than 50 percent of their compensation in the form of stock in the company. Because of this, “If Mr. Musk manages to buy Twitter at the proposed price of $54.20 per share, employees said they fear losing the long-term value of their shares,” states the NYT.
From the beginning, Elon has made known what his plans are for the company if his arrival is effective. Businessman intends to get rid of almost all moderation policies of the social network. These are in charge of limiting the content that may contain threats of violence or death; harassment and spam.
Also, Twitter will have to provide more information about how your algorithm works. And, in addition, it will have to take the step and become a private company.
Since 2008, Twitter has been fine-tuning its moderation policies. So much so, that today it has a team of hundreds of people who are in charge of reviewing and vetoing content that may be harmful to other users of the platform. For this reason, Musk’s movements could not only ruin the experience of millions of people in the world; but also leave a lot of workers on the street.
These changes seem to be creating doubts among those who, in the past, had tried to join the company. As expressed by the New York Times“Potential candidates have expressed skepticism about Mr. Musk’s plans to transform Twitter and end its content moderation, those documents say…”
The new reception of Musk by Twitter workers reflects a stark contrast to events two years ago. At the time, the employees listened carefully to the businessman’s words; who claimed that the platform needed to improve its moderation methods. This in order to separate bot and scammers of real humans actively using the social network. Now, however, it seems that some things have started to change.