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Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Speaks On Mass Twitter Layoffs

Photo of Carmine Sabia Carmine SabiaNovember 6, 2022
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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.

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Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey supported the idea of Elon Musk purchasing the company, but he has made a stunning statement after the new CEO decided to layoff a ton of employees.

On Saturday he apologized to the now former employees for growing the company too quickly which has led to the layoffs.

“Folks at Twitter past and present are strong and resilient. They will always find a way no matter how difficult the moment. I realize many are angry with me. I own the responsibility for why everyone is in this situation: I grew the company size too quickly. I apologize for that,” he said.

“I am grateful for, and love, everyone who has ever worked on Twitter. I don’t expect that to be mutual in this moment…or ever…and I understand,” he said.

In April Dorsey supported Musk purchasing the company.

“I love Twitter. Twitter is the closest thing we have to a global consciousness,” he said.

“The idea and service is all that matters to me, and I will do whatever it takes to protect both. Twitter as a company has always been my sole issue and my biggest regret. It has been owned by Wall Street and the ad model. Taking it back from Wall Street is the correct first step.

“In principle, I don’t believe anyone should own or run Twitter. It wants to be a public good at a protocol level, not a company. Solving for the problem of it being a company however, Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness,” the former CEO said.

“Elon’s goal of creating a platform that is ‘maximally trusted and broadly inclusive’ is the right one. This is also @paraga’s goal, and why I chose him. Thank you both for getting the company out of an impossible situation. This is the right path…I believe it with all my heart.

“I’m so happy Twitter will continue to serve the public conversation. Around the world, and into the stars!” he said.

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Musk is taking heat for laying off roughly half of Twitter’s 7,500 worldwide employees on Friday, but he’s since defended his action.

“Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day. Everyone [who] exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required,” he explained on the platform.

He added that “Twitter’s strong commitment to content moderation remains absolutely unchanged,” while noting that “hateful speech” on the platform had “declined below prior norms” since he acquired the platform, contrary to many expectations.

But by Thursday afternoon many employees had lost access to the company’s Slack and work emails. And now some of Twitter’s employees want to sue.

“Signs of pushback against Twitter’s actions emerged in the wake of the apparent dismissals. In a federal lawsuit dated Thursday, a handful of Twitter employees accused the company of violating federal and California law in failing to provide enough warning of a mass layoff,” The Journal said.

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“The lawsuit, filed in California federal court by five former employees of Twitter who said they were terminated this week, said the company’s layoffs violated the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act and its California equivalent, which require giving 60 days of advance written warning of dismissing a large number of employees of a company at once. The lawsuit asked the court to issue an order blocking Twitter from its alleged violations of the acts. Twitter didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment,” it said.

It was followed by a ton of whining by former Twitter employees.

“Looks like I’m unemployed y’all. Just got remotely logged out of my work laptop and removed from Slack. #OneTeam forever. Loved you all so much. So sad it had to end this way,” Simon Balmain, the former Senior Community Manager, said.

“It’s insane because I knew it was coming but I’m absolutely ripped in half. Im embarrassed for posting, but it hurts because this company was so damn special,” Twitter human resources associate Lindsay Kander said in a now deleted tweet with a photo of her crying.

“We knew this day would come, we prepared, but… it still hurts,” another former Twitter employee said.

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“Yesterday was my last day of work at Twitter. I am grateful that I got the opportunity to work with such amazing folks around. To all my fellow Tweeps – I wish you the best, You got this! Please feel free to dm me if you need any help or just an ear for listening,” another said.

“Though my heart is full seeing the support in my DMs, but I was not laid off. I resigned by my will and I am not looking for a new job. Please continue supporting the other tweeps who need help right now,” she said.

“My watch at Twitter has come to an end. To those around me who helped make Twitter better, thank you. You were a constant inspiration for me to be the best I can be. It’s been a journey of change, chaos, ups & downs, each one of them special and I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Tim Marks said.

“I will always cherish the memories, friendships, launches and enduring everything that happened these past years together. May this be see you later and not farewell and to those who will continue to see this adventure here through, best of luck, truly.

“To my team and peers past and present, you are all incredible. You showed such growth, care, commitment and support it inspired and humbled me every day. Keep being your best selves, authentic and with that signature Goldbird grit,” he said.

“Twitter is so special. After 4 yrs, I’m leaving with the fullest , experiences I never imagined, and unbreakable bonds with so many Tweeps. My head is held high, knowing I gave it my absolute all.

@TwitterComms: We have so much to be proud of. Time to fly even higher!” former Head of Internal Comms Julie Steele said.

“When I first started this job I rolled my eyes a bit at the hashtag #LoveWhereYouWork. 3 years later; I’m so thankful that I got to experience the incredible specialness that is Twitter . Grateful for this chapter in my life,” another said.

“After 2,362 days working for my favorite social media app, it looks like I’ve been laid off. I’m glad Ads Targeting & Relevance was able to ship so many things this year, and sad about all the things we had planned & in the works. TY team & xFN teams,” another said.

Maybe they should not have been so woke.

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Photo of Carmine Sabia Carmine SabiaNovember 6, 2022