In a bid to revamp the social media platform, Twitter Inc. has undergone deeper cuts into its already radically diminished trust and safety team responsible for global content moderation, as well as the unit related to hate speech and harassment. At least a dozen more cuts affected workers in the company’s Dublin and Singapore offices on Friday night, according to sources familiar with the matter. Among those laid off were Nur Azhar Bin Ayob, the head of site integrity for Twitter’s Asia-Pacific region, and Analuisa Dominguez, Twitter’s senior director of revenue policy.
Workers on teams responsible for handling the social network’s misinformation policy, global appeals, and state media on the platform were also eliminated. The cuts came after Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, bought the social media platform for $44 billion in October. Part of the financing for the deal was almost $13 billion of debt, which entailed interest repayments of around $1.5 billion a year.
Ella Irwin, Twitter’s head of trust and safety, confirmed that several members of the teams were cut. However, she denied that they targeted some of the areas mentioned by Bloomberg. She said that it made more sense to consolidate teams under one leader rather than two, for example. She added that Twitter eliminated roles in areas of the company that needed more volume to justify continued support. However, she said that Twitter increased staffing in its appeals department and would continue to have a head of revenue policy and a leader for the platform’s Asia-Pacific region for trust and safety.
Since taking over the company, Musk has overseen the firings or departures of roughly 5,000 of Twitter’s 7,500 employees and instituted a “hardcore” work environment for those remaining. He has embarked on a frantic mission to revamp the social media platform, which he said was losing $4 million a day as of early November and at risk of going bankrupt.
Speaking on a Twitter Spaces event last month, Musk likened the company to a “plane that is headed towards the ground at high speed with the engines on fire, and the controls don’t work.” Twitter faces multiple suits over unpaid bills, including for private chartered plane flights, software services, and rent at one of its San Francisco offices.
In conclusion, Twitter’s staff cuts in global content moderation are not new, but they have become deeper under Elon Musk’s leadership. The social media platform has undergone a significant transformation, which has led to the firings or departures of thousands of employees. The revamping process is still ongoing, and it remains to be seen what further changes Musk will bring to Twitter. However, it is clear that the new owner is focused on turning the platform’s fortunes around and ensuring its survival in an increasingly competitive industry.
