According to a newspaper report, Elon Musk is planning a job loss on Twitter. The Washington Post wrote that he had indicated to potential investors that he would reduce the number of employees in an acquisition from 7,500 to about 2,000. The newspaper relies on insiders and confidential documents. Musk and Twitter initially did not comment. According to an insider, the company refuted the reports in an email to all employees.
Accordingly, Sean Edgett, head of Twitter’s legal department, wrote in the email that there were no plans for company-wide layoffs.
After months of back and forth, Musk’s approximately $44 billion (nearly $45 billion) acquisition of Twitter is expected to be completed by the end of next week — if no more issues. The responsible judge has imposed a deadline: if the purchase is not completed by October 28, a lawsuit will follow.
White House to review Musk deals
Bloomberg financial news agency highlighted a potential obstacle on Friday night. The White House is considering whether some of Musk’s deals, including the Twitter acquisition, could be subject to a national security investigation, the financial service said, citing its sources. After such verification, transactions may be prohibited.
Musk is the head of US electric car maker Tesla, and the value of his stock in the company currently makes him the richest person in the world. Since Tesla has a large factory in Shanghai, which is very important to the company, there have been public concerns that Musk could, for example, curtail freedom of speech around China on Twitter in order to get along with the leadership in Beijing.
Controversial Foreign Policy Statements
Musk was recently criticized for two advances in foreign policy. He proposed making Taiwan a “special administrative region” under Chinese rule. The government in Taipei dismissed this as “unacceptable”. Musk also called on Ukraine to give up Russia’s illegally annexed Crimea and agree to a UN-controlled referendum in its Russian-occupied territories.
The Tesla boss had actually reached an agreement about the acquisition with Twitter in April. However, in July, he voided the agreement due to alleged misrepresentations about fake accounts. Twitter sued for breach of contract of sale. At the beginning of October, Musk surprisingly renewed his purchase offer.
However, he stipulated that the lawsuit about the takeover – in which his chances were considered relatively small – would be settled. Twitter has rejected this. The company is suspicious of Musk making its offering dependent on funding, potentially leaving a back door open.
While presenting Tesla’s latest earnings results on Wednesday, Musk said he and other investors “apparently” overpaid for the online network. However, Twitter also has “incredible potential”. At least that’s how it sounded like he’d resigned himself to making the expensive deal.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
