Elon Musk Delivers Ultimatum to Twitter Staff: Prepare to Quit or Get “Hardcore”

Ultimatum to Twitter staff: Musk’s Twitter takeover has implemented a lot of changes. It has also seen Musk putting his foot down as he attempts to bring his vision to the company. Previously, he gave employees an ultimatum, demanding they launch the paid authentication service Twitter Blue by a deadline or get fired. Now, he is back at it again, delivering an ultimatum to Twitter staff to prepare to quit or get “hardcore.”

Twitter has fired over 3,700 people and lost a range of executives, some of which resigned amidst the tumultuous takeover. It has been a bumpy start for the company, especially with Twitter asking some of the employees it fired to return. But with the ultimatum to Twitter staff, more people might soon be leaving.

• Twitter fired nearly half of the company after the acquisition, but it later reached out to dozens of employees who lost their jobs and asked them to return.
• Reportedly, some of the employees were laid off by mistake, while others were fired by management before realizing their skills and experience were needed. However, these employees might be in the crosshairs once again as they face Musk’s ultimatum to Twitter staff.

There is now a new ultimatum to Twitter staff, which offers employees a choice between resigning or committing to a hardcore work environment. The deadline set by Musk for them to make their decision was 5 PM Eastern time on Thursday, at which point those who are not ready to be a part of the new Twitter will receive severance.

• According to an email sent by Musk, “Going forward, to build a breakthrough Twitter 2.0 and succeed in an increasingly competitive world, we will need to be extremely hardcore.”
• Employees who resign or do not want to be a part of the new hardcore Twitter will receive three months of severance.
• Musk thanked employees for their “efforts to make Twitter successful” in the email, regardless of the decision they make.

What does hardcore mean? According to Musk, a hardcore work environment means “working long hours at high intensity.” He also stated that “Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade.”

The ultimatum to Twitter staff is not the only email sent to staff in recent weeks. Musk also sent out an email that ended remote work, banning it unless personally approved by him. At the same time, he seemed to be preparing employees for the most recent email, telling them to expect “difficult times ahead” and stating that he expected employees to be in the office for a minimum of 40 hours per week.

• Before Musk’s takeover, Twitter held a work-from-anywhere model that allowed employees freedom over their location.
• Musk also got rid of “days of rest” from employee calendars, which was a companywide day off every month.
• The clash between Twitter’s old work culture and Musk has only intensified, leading up to the current ultimatum to Twitter staff.

Musk’s actions have received criticism, including employees tweeting they had to sleep at the office. While the tweets have since been deleted, it has not stopped others from speaking out about what they find to be unreasonable or unfair treatment.

Former employees are suing Musk. In a case filed preemptively, former employees are suing Musk for the lack of notice for the firings. The case claims that Twitter is in violation of California and federal employment law after letting the employees go without proper notice. The notification (WARN) act requires a 60-day notice for mass layoffs.