Twitter reportedly cut thousands of contractors without warning

Twitter eliminated a large number of contract employees on Saturday, affecting anywhere from 4,400 to 5,500 workers, according to Platformer’s Casey Newton. As noted by Platformer and confirmed by other reports from Axios and CNBC, most contract employees didn’t receive any notice that they’ve been terminated and only found out after losing access to the company’s email and internal communications systems.

Twitter reportedly failed to notify managers of these job cuts as well, who didn’t realize their colleagues had been terminated until after seeing that their accounts have been deactivated in Twitter’s system. According to an internal email sent to contractors and obtained by Insider (which Insider says contractors didn’t receive until after they learned they’d been locked out of their accounts), Twitter explains that the job cuts are part of its “reprioritization and savings exercise.” It also informs employees their last day is Monday, November 14th, but that they won’t be expected to do anything.

Following Musk’s takeover, a number of Twitter executives have already resigned or been fired, and it’s possible that more employees may lose their job over the company’s new in-person work policy. In a transcript of a Q&A session between Musk and employees obtained by The Verge’s Alex Heath, Musk made it clear that workers must return to the office and that only “exceptional people” can work remotely. “Basically, if you can show up in an office and you do not show up at the office, resignation accepted,” Musk said.

Twitter didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. The company no longer has a communications department.