Elon Musk mocked a Twitter employee’s doubt over whether he had been let go in a recent round of layoffs in a series of tweets Monday night and mocked the employee’s disability. It’s the most recent instance of the billionaire openly provoking employees of his business, both current and former.
Elon Musk $ Haraldur Thorleifsson’s Beef
Twitter senior director Haraldur Thorleifsson, who is based in Iceland. Tweeted at Musk to inform him that nine days prior, when Twitter purportedly let go of 200 staff, access to his computer had been blocked. But, according to Thorleifsson’s tweet. “Tweeter’s head of HR is unable to determine if he is still an employee or he is laid off.”
What work have you been doing, tweeted Musk in response. Thorleifsson responded with a list of his tasks, and Musk seemed to question several of them. He tweeted, “Pics or it didn’t happen. The millionaire said that Thorleifsson “did no actual job. He claimed as an excuse that he had a handicap that prohibited him from typing” in a another tweet.
In a tweet, Thorleifsson confirmed that he has muscular dystrophy, a progressive condition that, according to him, left him in a wheelchair more than 20 years ago. The United Nations and the president of Iceland have acknowledged Thorleifsson for leading a charitable initiative to build 1,000 wheelchair ramps around Reykjavik to boost the city’s accessibility. Thorleifsson started a digital branding company that was acquired by Twitter in 2021.
I can’t do manual work—in this example, typing or using a mouse—for long stretches of time without my hands cramping, he claimed. Yet I can write for a couple of hours at a time. This wasn’t an issue with Twitter 1.0 because I was a senior director and my main responsibility was to provide teams with strategic and tactical guidance as they advanced.
Request for comment from Thorleifsson did not immediately receive a response. Twitter, which just downsized a large portion of its PR team, likewise didn’t reply. Via CNN
Does Elon Musk Bully Twitter Staff?
It’s not the first time that Musk, one of the richest men in the world, has openly mock of Twitter workers. A company he acquired for $44 billion last year. He has feuded on the platform with former Twitter executives, fired staff who criticize him, and in one instance publicly called out a former employee’s comments criticizing him, claiming they were the result of “a sad case of adult onset Tourette’s.”
The startling sight of a business owner making fun of an employee in public. Draws attention to the unusual corporate circus that Twitter employees have endured over the past year. Musk made a threat to back out of the agreement, completed the transaction, and then initiated many rounds of layoffs. Hundreds of former Twitter workers are currently suing the firm, alleging unfulfilled severance obligations and, in some cases, discrimination, particularly against employees with disabilities.
The platform appears to be having trouble staying online in the interim. In one of its worst disruptions since Musk took control of the company on Monday, many users were unable to access Twitter at all. And others had trouble clicking on links or viewing photographs for roughly an hour. It was the third significant technical issue Twitter has encountered in less than a month. As a result of Musk’s personnel reductions (from approximately 7,500 employees prior to his takeover to fewer than 2,000) and other cost-cutting measures.
Thorleifsson tweeted after his conversation with Musk that Twitter’s HR director had confirmed his termination from the business.
It is completely OK and occurs frequently. They normally notify people about it, but apparently with Twitter now that’s optional,” he added. The next step is to determine whether Twitter will honor its obligation to pay me according to my contract.