Twitter Faces Lawsuit Over Unpaid Office Fees—Again
ForbesFeb 12, 2023
The Facts
On Wednesday, Twitter was sued for allegedly failing to pay at least $500M in promised severance to thousands of employees who were laid off after Elon Musk purchased the platform last year.
The class-action suit was filed by Courtney McMillan, who was Twitter’s "head of total rewards" and oversaw the company’s employee benefits program before she was let go in January.
Musk is accused in the filing of knowing about the severance plan but balking at the "expense" of what became a 6K-employee wave of layoffs following his takeover of the company.
The Spin
Narrative A
Musk’s leadership of Twitter has gone horrifically, and it seems like the walls are closing in. This latest suit adds to a laundry list of claims against the platform contributing to the company’s financial woes. Meanwhile, Meta has launched its competitor Threads and advertisers are leaving in droves. Musk might drive Twitter right out of existence.
Narrative B
When Musk purchased Twitter, it was going bankrupt based on arrangements and promises made by prior management. Musk made the necessary staff cuts to save the company and then paid what Twitter could afford in severance without going bankrupt. The former employees should be satisfied under the context of a challenging situation inherited by Musk.
