Twitter, the popular social media platform, has seen a significant downsizing of its workforce in recent months. On Saturday night, the New York Times reported that the company had laid off another 200 employees, bringing the total number of people employed by Twitter down to just 2,000 – a decrease of almost 7,500 since October, when billionaire Elon Musk took over the company.
The cuts, according to three people familiar with the matter, affected product managers, data scientists, engineers, and those working on machine learning and site reliability – roles that are essential to keeping the company’s features up and running. The monetization infrastructure team, which is responsible for the services that generate revenue for Twitter, was also reduced to fewer than eight people, down from thirty.
Among those let go were the founders of small tech companies that Twitter had acquired, including Esther Crawford, founder of Squad, a screen sharing and video chat app; and Haraldur Thorliefsson, who founded the design studio Ueno.
The layoffs have been part of a larger trend of downsizing and cost-cutting at Twitter. In January, the company announced that it was laying off 8% of its global workforce, or about 350 people, in an effort to cut costs and streamline its operations. In addition, Twitter has been restructuring its product teams and cutting back on its investments in other areas, such as its live video streaming service, Periscope.
The layoffs have been a difficult time for many employees, and the company has been criticized for its handling of the situation. Some have questioned why Twitter has been so quick to cut costs while its CEO, Jack Dorsey, continues to receive a large salary and stock options. Others have argued that the company should have done more to find new roles or opportunities for those who were let go.
Despite the criticism, Twitter has been adamant that the layoffs were necessary to ensure the company’s long-term success. Dorsey has said that the moves were made to make sure the company has the resources to invest in the products and services that will help it grow.
Twitter’s future remains uncertain, but with its focus on cost-cutting and streamlining its operations, the company appears to be taking steps to ensure its long-term sustainability. It remains to be seen whether the layoffs will have a positive or negative effect on the company’s bottom line, but it is clear that the changes have had an impact on the people who have been affected.
