Twitter Employees Search for Answers as the Musk Deal Takes Shape

In January 2020, thousands of Twitter employees gathered in Houston for a corporate summit called #OneTeam. During the event, Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter at the time, announced that he had invited a surprise guest. Then, with a wave and a smile, Elon Musk appeared on the giant screens above the stage. The crowd cheered, applauded and clenched their fists. “We love you,” one employee shouted.

Surprise announcements about Mr. Musk on Twitter today come out in a different way. Employees said they’ve largely stopped celebrating the world’s richest man since he announced earlier this month his intention to buy Twitter, shelve its content moderation policies, and turn the public company into a private one.

Twitter employees also said they were disappointed that they didn’t hear much about what’s going on in the fight to take over from their management and what it means for them. Signed a deal with Mr. Musk Monday morning. They asked their CEO, Parag Agrawal. They asked Elon Musk himself in the questions sent on Twitter. Some even went to the financial firm Charles Schwab, who manages stock options, for clarity about the impact the sale of the company had on them.

But they didn’t get much response, said 11 Twitter employees, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly, although it became clear they would soon find themselves reporting to Mr. Musk. Sunday, Twitter board meets to discuss Mr Musk’s proposal and was said to be seriously considering it. Some employees vented their frustration with the continued silence on Twitter Monday morning, while others lauded in private conversations.

This kind of silence is routine in takeover wars. Employees are often kept in the dark as the board negotiates with bankers, lawyers, and expensive public relations firms. But it has been particularly frustrating for the employees at Twitter, which has declared itself to be the world’s town square, to find out what’s happening to their company primarily through Twitter, the service they’ve created.

After years of leadership debates, demands for change from activist investors, and the outrageous tweets from former President Donald J. Trump, Twitter’s more than 7,000 employees have grown used to the turmoil. But some say the volatile billionaire’s takeover bid has hit them in ways other corporate crises haven’t.

Employees said they were concerned that Mr. Musk would undo years of work cleaning up the toxic corners of the platform, increase share compensation in the process of privatizing the company, and disrupt the unpredictable management style and culture of Twitter. sudden remarks.

But Mr. Musk also has fans among regular members of Twitter, and some employees have welcomed his offer. In an internal Slack message seen by The New York Times asking if employees were excited about Mr. Musk, about 10 people responded with the “Yes” emoji. A Twitter spokesperson declined to comment.

David Larcker, professor of accounting and corporate governance at Stanford University, said that if Twitter is worth buying, much of its value lies in the employees who create and manage the service. “What if the Joker becomes a very different company than they thought they were working for? It’s an uncomfortable working relationship,” he said.

Mr. Musk has made some of his intentions clear in regulatory filings, tweets, and public statements: The company should repeal nearly all moderation policies that ban content such as violent threats, harassment, and spam. It should provide more transparency about the algorithm users use to boost tweets in their news feed. And it should become a private company.

Twitter has been expanding its content moderation policies since 2008, when its 25th employee was hired specifically to combat abuse on its platform. Teams overseeing temperance and safety now have hundreds of employees.

Six employees said many Twitter employees, even if they don’t work directly on content moderation, are personally invested in the company’s efforts to promote healthy conversation and pressure executives to further crack down on hate speech and misinformation. They see Mr Musk’s proposal to revert to Twitter’s early, loose approach as a criticism of their work.

But other employees argued in internal messages seen by the Times that their co-workers had shifted too far to the left of the political spectrum, making employees who supported Mr. Musk’s plans very uncomfortable speaking up. In a survey of nearly 200 Twitter employees at Blind, an anonymous workplace review app, 44 percent said they were neutral about Mr. Musk. While 27 percent said they loved Mr. Musk, 27 percent said they hated him.

While executives and staff at Twitter agree with Mr. Musk on changes to the Algorithm, this work is in its early stages and could take years to complete. This could test something Mr. Musk doesn’t particularly know: patience.

One of the biggest concerns of Twitter employees is whether they will take a financial blow from Mr. Musk’s plans. Many Twitter employees get 50 percent or more of their total earnings from Twitter shares. If Mr. Musk manages to buy Twitter at the suggested price of $54.20 per share, employees said they feared missing out on the long-term value of their shares.

Sean Edgett, Twitter’s general counsel, told employees that in an effort to address financial concerns, any potential buyers will be required to keep employee equity “as is” or provide equivalent compensation, such as a cash reward.

Mr. Edgett stressed that employees should not view his guidance as insight into deal-making. “The purpose of this is to explain how these things typically work and provide some peace of mind, not because we believe one outcome will be against another,” Mr Edgett said in messages to employees reviewed by The Times.

Twitter is on a hiring spree, spending $630 million on stock-based compensation in 2021, up 33 percent from the previous year. Twitter estimated in its February earnings report that it will spend between $900 million and $925 million on share-based compensation this year.

But Mr. Musk’s campaign has also begun to undermine Twitter’s attempts to hire new employees, according to internal documents outlining the company’s hiring efforts reviewed by The Times. Candidates hired, according to these documents, expressed skepticism about Mr Musk’s plans to transform Twitter and increase content control.

Recruits also worry that if Mr. Musk manages to keep Twitter private, the shares included in the offer letters could be rapidly devalued.

Twitter’s hiring problem could be exacerbated if current employees resign, as some have warned they will do if Mr. Musk takes over. Other employees were concerned about layoffs or loss of work visas under Mr. Musk and asked Mr. Agrawal about these issues.

According to internal memos reviewed by The Times, hiring managers were asked to keep track of how many prospective employees turned down job offers because of fears about Mr.

Employees also wondered: Could it move Twitter’s headquarters to Texas? Just like Tesla did.? Can it end the company’s flexibility to return to the office, which has become a selling point for employees and hires? Mr. Musk, after all, Fought with authorities in California to keep the car factory open early in the pandemic.

Mr. Agrawal tried to calm the workforce. In a question-and-answer session with employees the day Mr. Musk announced his plans to buy Twitter, Mr. Agrawal declined to share details about how the company would respond to Mr. Musk, but urged employees to focus on what they were doing. According to the employees attending the meeting, they can control it like their daily work.

Two employees said Mr. Agrawal has not addressed the entire company since. The company will announce its first-quarter earnings on Thursday.

The stress at Mr. Musk’s word is in stark contrast to the welcome he received from employees two years ago. While some employees said they were skeptical of Mr. Musk at the 2020 event, many listened carefully as he gave his advice for Twitter: The company should step up its inspection by doing more to weed out bots and scammers. real people using the platform.

“By the way, do you want to run Twitter?” Mr. Dorsey asked Mr. Musk.

The gathered Twitter employees laughed. Mr. Musk did not respond immediately.

Ryan Mac and Mike Isaac contributing reporting.