Image source, Handout

We've been telling you how staff at Twitter will find out later if they'll keep their jobs under new boss Elon Musk.

So for those who stay - what will it be like to work with him?

Well, the world's richest man has a reputation for being ruthless when it comes to staff.

US media reports already speak of long hours spent by some staff to meet Mr Musk's demands in the aftermath of the Twitter takeover.

In May, Mr Musk said his work ethic expectations would be "extreme", but less than he demanded of himself.

He has often said he's not in business simply to make money - claims he repeated recently with regard to his Twitter takeover, saying he wanted to "help humanity".

In a 2015 biography, author Ashlee Vance described Musk as "a confrontational know-it-all" with an "abundant ego".

In the past, he has complained of regulations and high taxes in California where Twitter is based. He's also clashed with unions over workers rights at Tesla.

Known the world over as a ground-breaking entrepreneur - workers at Twitter HQ will now get to witness his management style first hand.

Read more about Elon Musk here.

The human cost will not distract Muskpublished at 11:03 Greenwich Mean Time 4 November 2022

11:03 GMT 4 November 2022

Zoe Kleinman
Technology editor

The hashtag #oneteam on Twitter is currently an emotional feed of staff finding out - seven weeks before Christmas - that they have lost their jobs.

Dozens of people are sharing their thoughts, and shock, at what is happening. There will be many more keeping quiet or are in a time zone which means they haven’t found out yet.

It’s not clear whether the sackings are effective immediately.

Under Californian law, if more than 50 people are being laid off at the same time they need a 60-day notice period. New owner Elon Musk has manoeuvred around this in the past by continuing to pay salaries for 60 days but ending the actual employment straight away.

There has been speculation that he could cut up to 50% of Twitter's 8,000-strong workforce. He’s known to favour coders and engineers over managers, and his immediate focus on this platform is to grow its user base and revenue – both of which have been stagnant for a long time.

“We’ve got to pay the bills somehow” he tweeted to the novelist Stephen King, who said he would not be prepared to pay a monthly fee for his verification badge, known as a blue tick.

Musk means business, and his track record at Tesla, SpaceX and Paypal – as well as his status as the world’s richest person – demonstrates that he gets results.

The human cost will not distract him from his ambitions.

Image source, Reuters

There is speculation that as many as half of Twitter's 8,000 jobs are on the chopping block.

The platform struggles to make a profit. One way to fix the problem is by making a dent in the wage bill.

Simon Balmain, a senior community manager for Twitter in the UK, told the BBC that he believed he has been laid off, because he was logged out of his work laptop and Slack messaging programme.

"Everyone got an email saying that there was going to be a large reduction in headcount, and then around an hour later, folks started getting their laptops remotely wiped and access to Slack and Gmail revoked," he said.

"I was working mostly LA (Los Angeles) hours because of the projects I was on, so was still awake when it happened.

He said the "exodus of talent" from this layoff will reshape the whole technology industry as we know it.

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More Twitter employees have been taking to other social media sites to share their thoughts on the imminent layoff announcement.

One manager with Twitter took to LinkedIn by writing: "Well, I guess I'm part of the layoff.

"Just got remotely logged out of my company laptop and removed from Twitter Slack.

"So sad it had to end this way.

"Solidarity with all my other Tweeps going through the same thing. Sending love to you all."

There are others - like senior manager Simon Balmain - who in his message aims to find a new job by listing off their experience.

It doesn't stop them from sharing their disappointment either.

"I’ve lost my job and I need your help please," he writes.

"This morning I lost access to my Twitter systems without warning, meaning I’m part of the 50% of workforce layoffs from a role I absolutely adored."

Image source, Reuters

The class-action lawsuit filed yesterday by an unknown number of Twitter employees says the company is carrying out layoffs without enough notice in violation of federal and California law.

It came after Twitter's chief executive Elon Musk announced plans for job cuts to lower costs at the company, after he bought the firm last week in a $44bn (£39.3bn) deal.

The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act restricts large companies from mounting mass layoffs without at least 60 days of advance notice.

The lawsuit asks the court to issue an order requiring Twitter to obey the WARN Act, and restricting the company from soliciting employees to sign documents that could give up their right to participate in litigation.

"We filed this lawsuit tonight in an attempt the make sure that employees are aware that they should not sign away their rights and that they have an avenue for pursuing their rights,” the attorney who filed the complaint, Shannon Liss-Riordan, told Bloomberg, external.

Liss-Riordan sued Tesla Inc. over similar claims in June when the electric-car maker co-founded by Musk laid off around 10% of its workforce.

She said Musk is "repeating the same playbook of what he did at Tesla" and questioned whether he would continue to "thumb his nose at the laws of this country" that protect employees.

Twitter is yet to comment on the lawsuit and we are asking them if they would like to do so.

Twitter has sent the following memo to its employees telling them how they will find out if they have been laid off or if their jobs are safe.

Thomas Mackintosh
Live reporter

We know that staff will receive an email letting them know about whether they still have a job with Twitter later this afternoon UK time (16:00 GMT), which is Friday morning in the US.

But, already several workers say they have been locked out of their email and Slack accounts before getting that official confirmation they've lost their jobs.

Twitter employees have set up support groups online and published layoff guides for affected colleagues.

Emily Fortner writes, external: "The fact that the first thing tweeps did when layoffs were finally, officially announced was to send so many heart emojis that we broke Slack says everything no one else knows about this place."

While another employee makes comments towards new boss Elon Musk.

"Honestly happy to be laid off, but the veil of Elon Musk is pierced," Kushal Dave says., external

"As messy as Twitter was pre-Elon, it is a veritable clown town of politics and toadyism and psychological abuse now.

"Afraid to get in my Tesla with what I learned this week."

Image source, Reuters

The world's richest man, Elon Musk, completed his $44bn (£38.1bn) takeover of Twitter last week. He claims that he bought the social media platform to "help humanity".

But his acquisition of the company was not a straightforward process.

Musk announced a plan to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share in April. But he backed away from the deal just a few weeks later saying he was concerned that spam accounts on the platform were higher than Twitter had claimed.

Twitter ultimately sued to force him to complete the deal.

Now he's in charge, the tumult continues as he carries out a massive shake-up of the firm, which has not made a profit in several years.

Staff will find out today if they will keep their jobs.

Read more about the Twitter takeover here.

Image source, Reuters

Hello and welcome to our live page. Twitter employees are suing the social media company as Elon Musk begins laying off about half of its workforce, Bloomberg News reports.

Employees have filed a class-action lawsuit saying the company is sacking staff without enough notice in violation of federal and California law.

In an internal email, the social media company said the cuts are "an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path".

The firm added that its offices would be temporarily closed and badge access would be suspended.

Staff will be informed by Friday morning about whether they will be laid off following Musk’s takeover of the firm, Twitter says.

Musk, the multi-billionaire, will be Twitter's chief executive after buying the firm last week in a $44bn (£39.3bn) deal.

Stay with us for the latest updates.