The chief executive of Twitter, Parag Agrawal, wanted to quell workers' anger on Friday during a general company meeting where workers demanded answers on how management planned to deal with the expected mass exit promoted by Elon Musk.
The meeting comes after Musk, Tesla's chief executive who signed a $ 44 billion contract to buy a communications company, repeatedly criticized Twitter content rating practices and the chief executive responsible for setting up speech and security policies.
At an internal meeting of the town hall, which was heard, management said the company would monitor the decline in staff daily, but was too close to say how the purchase agreement with Musk would affect staff retention.
Musk has put lenders at board salaries and high salaries but the exact reduction in costs is not yet clear, according to sources familiar with the matter. One source said Musk would not make decisions on job cuts until he took ownership of Twitter.
"I'm tired of hearing about the number of shareholders and honest work. What are your honest views on the high probability that many employees will not get a job after the contract is closed?" one Twitter employee asked Agrawal, in a question read aloud during the meeting.
Agrawal responded that Twitter has always cared about its employees and will continue to do so.
"I believe that the future Twitter organization will continue to care about its impact on the world and its customers," he said.
Managers said during the meeting the drop in staff numbers had not changed compared to previous levels of news of Musk's interest in buying a company.
In recent days, Musk has written on Twitter criticizing top Twitter lawyer, Vijaya Gadde, a Twitter veteran who is widely respected throughout Silicon Valley. Musk's attack has caused a lot of online harassment directed at him.
Employees also told management they feared Musk's misconduct could affect Twitter's business, and hurt it financially as the company prepares to speak with advertising at next week's launch in New York City.
"Do we have a plan in the near future on how to deal with money laundering advertisers," asked one employee.
Sarah Personette, chief customer officer at Twitter, said the company has been working on regular communication with advertisers and reassuring them "the way we serve our customers does not change."
After the meeting, a Twitter employee told there was little confidence in what the management was saying.
"PR speak does not come down. They tell us not to rush and do something you are proud of, but there is no clear reason why workers should do this," the employee told , noting that compensation for non-executive employees. it is now closed because of an agreement.
Agrawal is estimated at $ 42 million if he loses his job within 12 months after a change in management at a communications company, according to research firm Equilar.
During the meeting, Agrawal urged employees to anticipate future changes under the new leadership, and agreed that the company could have done better over the years.
"Yes, we could have done things differently and better. I could have done things differently. I think about that a lot," he said.
Twitter declined to comment further.
