The new Twitter-Owner Elon Musk laments a slump in sales after major companies paused advertising on the online service. Musk blamed “activist groups” who put pressure on advertisers. Nothing has changed in dealing with controversial content, and everything has been done to satisfy these activists, Musk wrote on Twitter on Friday. “They are trying to destroy free speech in America,” he claimed, without naming the groups.
On Friday, the VW group joined other large companies that are suspending their advertising on Twitter. General Motors stopped advertising on the platform last week. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the food giants Mondelez and General Mills are said to have taken similar steps.
Large advertising groups are also keeping their distance
Possibly even more threatening for Twitter’s advertising business, which accounts for around 90 percent of sales: the large international advertising groups are also keeping their distance. The industry giant IPG, which manages billions in advertising budgets for companies such as Coca-Cola, American Express, Levi Strauss and Spotify, is said to have advised customers to stop advertising on Twitter just a few days after Musk’s takeover.
A permanent withdrawal of major advertisers would be a problem for Twitter and Musk. The service recently wrote red numbers. Musk had also taken out loans of around $13 billion for the takeover – and according to media reports, servicing them requires more money than the Twitter business generates in free funds. Shrinking revenues would be particularly inconvenient.
Musk raised concerns himself with constant criticism that Twitter restricts freedom of speech too much. In an open letter to advertisers last week, he promised that not everyone would be allowed to express everything on Twitter without consequences. Then, over the weekend, he himself posted a link to an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory about the attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Thousands fear for their jobs on Twitter
At the same time, thousands of employees on Twitter fear for their jobs. After taking over Elon Musk Mass layoffs are imminent. The social media group announced on Thursday evening (local time) that it would inform the workforce by e-mail by Friday, 5 p.m. Central European Time, who had to go and who could stay.
“In an effort to put Twitter on a healthy path, we will undertake the difficult process of downsizing the global workforce,” the email, seen by Reuters, said. speculation was enough from a quarter to two thirds of the approximately 7500 employeeswho Musk wants to lose their jobs.
“If you are in the office or on your way there, please go back home”
From an email from Twitter management to employees
“If you are in the office or on your way there, please go back home,” the email said. Anyone who is allowed to stay will be informed via their official e-mail address. Those who have to leave will receive instructions on the next steps via their private email address. Until then, the offices would remain closed and all access cards would be deactivated “to ensure the security of all employees, the Twitter systems and customer data,” it said.
Some employees wrote on their Twitter accounts that their access to IT was already blocked – a sign that they would probably lose their jobs. “Looks like I’m unemployed. I just got logged out of my work laptop and removed from (the short message service) Slack,” wrote a user who describes himself as a former senior community manager at Twitter.
“Looks like I’m unemployed. I just got logged out of my work laptop…”
A week after the $44 billion takeover by the founder of the electric car manufacturer Tesla, there is great uncertainty on Twitter. Twice during the week meetings for all employees were called, only to be canceled hours later. Employees told Reuters they had to gather information themselves from the media, anonymous Internet forums and private chat groups. As a first measure after the takeover, Musk, known for an eccentric management style, had Twitter boss Parag Agrawal (38) and more high-ranking managers fired. Marketing, advertising and hiring executives followed suit throughout the week.
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According to two insiders, Musk has demanded on the internal Slack channel to save more than $1 billion in infrastructure costs – such as for servers and cloud services – between $1.5 and $3 million per day. His message was captioned “Deep Cuts Plan.” Employees now fear that the Twitter network could collapse if there is a lot of data traffic – for example for the congressional elections on Tuesday.