Twitter employees raise questions about Musk takeover in all-hands meeting

[brooklynite]

Source: CNN

Elon Musk is officially set to buy Twitter, and the company's employees have questions.

At an all-hands meeting Monday afternoon with CEO Parag Agrwal and Board Chair Bret Taylor, Twitter employees raised questions about everything from what the deal would mean for their compensation to whether former US President Donald Trump would be let back on the platform, according to audio of the call obtained by CNN.

The call comes after Twitter's board announced on Monday that it had reached a deal to sell the company to Musk for $54.20 per share. The deal caps off a stunning news cycle in which the Tesla and SpaceX CEO became one of Twitter's largest shareholders, was offered and turned down a seat on its board and bid to buy the company — all in less than a month — and puts the world's richest man in charge of one of the most influential social networks. It also raises big questions about how Musk's proposed changes for the platform, including loosening content restrictions, will take shape.

Agrawal, who has been in charge of Twitter for only four months, told employees not to expect big changes before the deal closes, which is set to happen before the end of this year. He also said that “ there are no plans for any layoffs at this point" and that Twitter's remote work policies will continue until the deal closes.

Read more: Link to source

[Pas-de-Calais]

1. Sounds like a bunch of corporate speak to me

To me what is strange was accepting such a price. Any haggling? Negotiations?
Did Agrawal get bought off?

[SledDriver]

4. There was this earlier

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216628150

[CentralMass]

2. Poor bastards.

[kimbutgar]

3. I think there will be a drain of employees at Twitter

Expect a massive sell off of employee owned stock and employees saying bye bye.

SF is an expensive place to live.

[thatdemguy]

6. two things

One why would they sell of their stock for a loss? They will get a check for the price its being sold at, which is currently higher than the current stock price.

Its already been stated they all still have a job and the same exact benefits for at least a year. Its kind of stupid to quit a job that is still giving you a pay check, and there is a decent chance they will still have a job there past the year, with the same pay.

If they dont like the changes they can resist from the inside while still getting paid.

[James48]

8. You are not seeing the big picture.

Musk means Trump will return.

Which will lead to the END of democracy in the USA. It will be over.

You might not have the moral fiber to stand up for democracy, but many of us do. I would never work for someone who would allow Trump to destroy my nation.

[Jon King]

12. Nah, Trump on or off twitter is not a thing.

Trump has his followers no matter if he is on twitter or not. Not one swing voter in PA, MI, or WI where the election will be decided is going to change their vote either way depending on what Trump tweets. Thats grossly overstated.

Besides, Trump won't run, Desantis is the chosen one and even Trump knows it. The Repugs realize Desantis has the gift of doing Trump things even more effectively. They flat out see Desantis as the future of the party.

Desantis is our #1 enemy and focus, not Trump.

[Ahpook]

15. I agree. That fool on there makes no difference

But that is one hell of a check to write to get the orange turd back to his Twitter account.

I say let him back on and air out the crazy shit he says to an international audience. He slit his own throat doing that shit in 2020 leading to a Biden win.

Have at it, I say.

[Jarqui]

22. Trump doesn't concern me

He's evil etc but he isn't coming back.
Behind the scenes, many in the GOP can't stand him either.

Good media as the arbiter of truth is required for democracy to function properly.

95% and maybe more now of US media is controlled by a small handful of people.
And they control what the majority of Americans think.
A lot of good journalism in the US is dead.

It was dying on CNN years ago when GOP lies were presented as one half of the partisan discussion - getting equal time and too often, no definitive call on their BS.

Twitter and Facebook are now in the control of a couple of men sympathetic to the GOP cause with massive corporate tax dollars in the balance.

That to me, is what is so bad about this transaction and the many like it or somewhat like it that preceded it.

The GOP control the vast majority US media and have almost unlimited Citizen United dollars to muzzle or dilute the Democrats message.

And so yes, democracy is dying right in front of us.
Long term, they won't prevail. There will eventually be a reckoning.
But it probably won't happen in my lifetime and may not happen in the lifetime of my kids.
Naturally, I'll fight it until I die.
But with events like today, it currently seems overwhelming.

[Miguelito Loveless]

32. I am not happy about Musk buying Twitter

Bu I think it a bit much to say Twitter will end Democracy.

[rockfordfile]

30. The deal is twitter is now owned by un-American right-wing pos.

By the end of the year it will be time to quit twitter. If not, then you're just a part of the problem.

[JI7]

5. Didn't he say changes would include things like verify every user

so no anonymous accounts. And have people pay to use it ?

[Grokenstein]

10. In other words, he'll burn Twitter to the ground.

Another platform will rise in its place.

[CloudWatcher]

7. There is no way the exec's know any of their answers

The only thing they know for sure, is that they don't know anything about post-Musk Twitter.

[Lithos]

9. I share their concern

Musk's only reason to buy this is because he thinks it will guarantee a platform for his inanities. Of course, he has quietly forgotten that it is the SEC he has is problems with and that owning Twitter will not cure him of that. Otherwise, it is just a toy for him.

Twitter has been a quiet innovator of technology that took a bit to find it's niche. As for a social platform, it actually proved very nimble and highly powered as an influencer platform. Under Elon, I think you will see an end to this specialness. The tech staff will move on and Twitter will stumble and become a laughing stock much like Facebook is today. The sad thing is there is not another platform ready to succeed it. Mastodon clones are too fragmented, Discord and Twitch are also fragmented, TikTok while powerful uses a visual rather than a text metaphor for communication.

[Jon King]

11. Musk will end up changing very little.

Twitter started as a totally free speech forum and it lead to chaos and advertisers bailing. Thats why they put in the various restrictions and suspensions.

Musk is the dog who caught the bus he was chasing. As time goes on he will learn the employees are vital and its hard to get good tech employees. And he will learn that the current restrictions on what can be said must remain.

[rockfordfile]

16. Nope. You're going to have a lot of different people in place.

Just think Cambridge Analytics.

[The Grand Illuminist]

31. He will buy the businesses which bailed out on Twitter.

There is no way around this.

[Miguelito Loveless]

33. Huh? Which businesses?

He is now cash poor at the moment. He can only raise money by selling Tesla stock, which means diluting his power in his prime company.

[groundloop]

13. I've been in that kind of meeting before, the "answers" were nothing but lies ........

intended to keep strategic employees content until the new owners could rip the company apart and walk away with their profits.

[DBoon]

38. yup

“there are no plans for any layoffs at this point" means they are now drafting plans for large scale layoffs

"Twitter's remote work policies will continue until the deal closes" means the day after the deal closes, you show up in the office or lose your job

[Comfortably_Numb]

14. I hope to Odin that I am alive to see Twitter become the MySpace of the 2020s. Rupert Murdoch ate

a giant shit sandwich with MySpace, and I hope Ego Musk eats his, as that blue bird gets worth less every day.

[Raine1967]

17. There is no source link.

can someone supply another CNN link?

[ultralite001]

18. CNN article...

[link:https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/25/tech/twitter-employees-elon-musk-takeover/index.html|]

That is all…

[ZonkerHarris]

19. First question should be: "Y'all remember when Musk screwed up PayPal?"

[thesquanderer]

27. What did he do to paypal? (n/t)

[ZonkerHarris]

28. PayPal board fired Musk from his CEO role in 2000 due to many disagreements and micro-managing.

he still got rich from it and started these new companies of his.

[Swamp Snob]

20. They can Raise all the Questions they Like

With $44,000,000,000 involved, it won't make a dime's worth of difference.

[orleans]

21. this was kinda interesting to read (from april 12)

https://www.thestreet.com/technology/twitter-elon-musk-problem

[bucolic_frolic]

23. I still think he will lose bigly on that investment

mainly due to a fracturing market splintering into niches, an undertow of public outrage in a small minority of the population, and because it will become a venue for subliminal neo-fascist points of view. I do not see Twitter as a growth story at this point, Peak Twitter is in the rear view mirror, and the big tell is how no other major tech company - Google, Microsoft, Apple, Disney to name 4 - stepped up to buy in the 50s which is still $20 below its peak last year. Overpaid, over-hyped.

[Pachamama]

25. - 44 Billion

Completely Agree

[thesquanderer]

26. Yup. Google, Microsoft, Apple, Disney have to answer to shareholders, and their execs...

...don't want to get fired.

Musk is the honey badger.

[ZonkerHarris]

29. plus Twitter is about 2 years from being displaced like Facebook did to MySpace Social media evolves

fast

[maxrandb]

24. In my experience, corporate will just order a bunch of copies of "Who Moved My Cheese"

and call it a day.

"Hey you bunch of progues! The reasons your life sucks is because you aren't looking hard enough for your fucking cheese"

[SouthernDem4ever]

36. LOL I remember that book

Was dumb then and is just as dumb today. Besides, by the time you found it, it was all moldy.

[IronLionZion]

34. If any DUers were wondering what sort of person supported Kanye West for president

Elon Musk was one of the more famous and vocal ones

[SouthernDem4ever]

35. Maybe Twitter's tech employees will start another platform

one that works better than all the other sad attempts out there now.

[Omaha Steve]

37. Kick