Fear of dismissal and winds of change in the offices of Twitter | Technology

The offices of Twitter have become the scene of the latest soap opera in Silicon Valley. The place lived this Thursday a tense calm. The Latino cook of an Asian restaurant on the ground floor assures that few employees have returned, which is corroborated by the company’s communication managers. Twitter, founded 16 years ago, reopened at the end of March, but CEO Parag Agrawal gave all workers the green light to telecommute. The winds of change fill the atmosphere, and in the speculations about the changes that Elon Musk could introduce as the new owner of the company, everything fits. Even the move. Dan Ives, a technology analyst based in Los Angeles, does not conceive of Musk taking the company’s headquarters away, as he did with Tesla, which he moved to Texas. “San Francisco is a core part of Twitter’s DNA,” he says.

“For the moment, and as long as the purchase is not made effective, everything remains the same,” asserted this week a tweep—What do Twitter workers call themselves?— who prefers to remain anonymous. Many of the company’s employees derive 50% or more of their incentives and compensation from company stock. It’s unclear what will happen when Musk raises the $54.20 per share he offered to take the platform private. Banks have agreed to lend him billions of dollars. And according to Bloomberg, the owner of SpaceX said to convince them that once he takes control there will be cuts in a workforce that now has 7,500 workers. He has also tweeted that he will scissor the salaries of council directors to save costs.

The end of an era can also be breathed in the air. “I think I could have done things better and differently. I think about it a lot,” Parag Agrawal admitted to his staff in an internal meeting followed by Reuters on Friday. The CEO, who has been in office for a few months after taking over from the founder of the company, Jack Dorsey, informed the workers that there will be changes in the direction of the firm once Musk takes charge, something that not surprising considering that the billionaire compared Agrawal to Stalin in a meme published last December. And it seems that a new purge is coming.

Moments fIt was one of Twitter’s responses to the long trail of disinformation left by Donald Trump’s election campaign in 2016. Some 15 people were monitoring this tool in Latin America to counteract the fake news. The restlessness marks the spirit of all of them today. “It has always been our concern to make this platform safer, more serious and free of disinformation. We are no longer sure that we can continue doing it, ”says a member of the team, who prefers not to reveal her name.

With their offices at half gas, the employees have transferred the climate of uncertainty that is breathed to the social network. “These are times of genuine discomfort and lack of certainty. Many of us believe that Twitter goes beyond being a technological platform: we have a responsibility to society. I hope the new owner understands this.” employee Edward Perez tweeted. This Friday, another worker launched a question for the executives: “Honestly, what do you think of the high possibility that many employees will be out of work after this operation?” The leadership promised to be attentive to the wear and tear of the employees, but asked them not to leak anything to the press. The transaction is expected to take three to six months to complete.

The fit of Elon Musk, a visionary who drags a black legend, in a company with a progressive profile, is another of the unknowns. As Tesla struggled with production issues on his Model 3, Musk slept at the plant every day of the week until the electric vehicle manufacturing goal was reached. Explosive dismissals of workers who could not keep up with him transcended from that period. In California, the leadership style at some of your company’s plants has ended up in court over harassment and discrimination claims. These forms contrast with the more relaxed ways of the technological San Francisco. Jack Dorsey came close to being euthanized by the council years ago because he liked to go out at six in the evening to go to drawing, yoga or fashion design classes. Dorsey, however, has been one of the promoters of Musk’s arrival.

This week has also left a pulse to come. Musk’s army of supporters, part of whom moves ideologically in the most radical spectrum of the right, harshly criticized Vijaya Gadde, one of the lawyers responsible for the policies of moderation and fight against harassment. The avalanche was triggered by another meme released by Musk, this one of a debate on the controversial Joe Rogan’s podcast between Gadde and a far-right YouTuber, who argues that the platform is not neutral and leans to the left. “I am shocked that people have attacked two of our most prominent female executives,” Lara Cohen, head of the show, said Tuesday. partners from Twitter. Two days later, the employee raised a war cry: “Twitter employees are resilient and stronger than you think. Here we continue”.

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