Four former Twitter Inc. executives, including former Chief Executive Parag Agarwal, on Monday sued company owner Elon Musk for more than $128 million in severance.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, stems from a year-long dispute after Musk fired the executives, citing gross negligence and willful misconduct. They dispute their dismissal, which Musk has given as the reason for not paying them severance.
In addition to Agarwal, the plaintiffs are Ned Segal, Twitter’s former chief financial officer; Vijaya Gadde, its former chief legal officer; and Sean Edgett, its former general counsel, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Musk purchased Twitter in October 2022 and renamed it X. Since then, he has taken an axe to the company’s payroll, whacking more than two-thirds of its 7,500-person workforce.
“This is the Musk playbook: to keep the money he owes other people, and force them to sue him,” the group charged in the lawsuit. “Even in defeat, Musk can impose delay, hassle and expense on others less able to afford it.”
Representatives of X were not immediately available for comment.
This post was originally published on Market Watch
