Elon Musk told Twitter Inc. employees Wednesday that, contrary to an earlier news report, he does not plan on cutting 75% of the staff, according to Bloomberg News.
Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported Musk — who faces a Friday deadline to buy Twitter
TWTR,
for $44 billion — planned on slashing 75% of Twitter’s 7,500-person workforce when he takes control. That report cited internal corporate documents and interviews with people familiar with Twitter’s plans. Potential cuts that deep raised immediate alarm that Twitter would cease to function normally, and that spam and hateful content would proliferate.
But Bloomberg reported that Musk denied he would cut that number of employees when he visited Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters Wednesday. Musk is still expected to lay off some workers. The Post report said Twitter had planned to lay off about a quarter of its staff by the end of next year even before Musk’s deal.
Musk is expected to return to Twitter on Friday, assuming the deal is finalized.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that big banks have begun moving $13 billion in funding for the deal, a sign that the acquisition is on track.
Twitter shares have risen 23% over the past month, and closed Wednesday at $53.35 — not far from the $54.20-a-share price that Musk agreed to pay in April.
