In the lead-up to the highly anticipated US presidential election on November 5, Elon Musk is reportedly intensifying his support for Donald Trump while simultaneously implementing fresh layoffs at his social media platform, X.
This marks another turbulent chapter for the company since Musk’s acquisition in 2022.
According to sources cited by The Verge, the latest round of job cuts predominantly targets the engineering department, although the exact number of affected employees remains undisclosed.
The report stated, “The exact scale of the job cuts remains unknown. These cuts come just two months after staffers were required to submit a one-page summary telling leadership their contributions to the company.”
As of now, neither Musk nor X has provided an official statement regarding these layoffs.
Additionally, Musk has recently communicated with X employees about upcoming stock options, which will now hinge on individual contributions.
An internal email indicated that employees must justify their impact on the company to qualify for stock grants, further heightening tensions within the workforce.
These developments come as employees brace for more cuts, reflecting ongoing struggles within the company.
Since acquiring X, Musk has laid off over 6,000 staff members – around 80% of the company’s workforce – forcing remaining employees to evaluate their roles and even assess the necessity of their colleagues’ positions.
The layoffs have not only impacted engineering but have also affected critical areas such as diversity and inclusion initiatives, product development, and content moderation teams.
Earlier this year, X eliminated approximately 1,000 positions from its safety team, which managed abusive content online. The company let go of a significant number of software engineers who focused on trust and safety.
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