Yahoo Finance Advertisers boycott Twitter as Elon Musk accuses campaign groups of censoring free speech
Elon Musk has accused “activist groups” of “trying to destroy free speech in America” by pressuring advertisers to boycott Twitter, amid swingeing job cuts at the tech company.
The tech billionaire, who took control of the social media website just over a week ago, said Twitter had suffered a “massive” drop in advertising revenues.
The billionaire blamed the fall on “activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists”.
He added: “They’re trying to destroy free speech in America.”
On Friday, the pressure group Stop Hate for Profit, which led an advertising boycott of Facebook in 2020 that cost the social network tens of millions of dollars, urged companies to stop dealing with Twitter. The group, which is organised by the US Anti-Defamation League, said: "We are calling on advertisers to pause their spend globally."
It came as Volkswagen told its brands, which include Bentley, Porsche and Lamborghini, to halt marketing on the social media site until further notice.
It is the latest company to sever ties with Twitter following Musk’s tumultuous $44bn (£38bn) takeover.
Audi, one of VW’s brands, had already suspended advertising, while Carlsberg, Cadbury’s owner Mondelez and Pfizer have also distanced themselves.
The unofficial boycott gathered pace as Mr Musk began a programme of mass sackings at Twitter. 3,700 staff members – roughly half the workforce – were set to lose their jobs.
In an email to staff, which was not signed by any executive or Mr Musk, Twitter told employees that they would find out their fate by 4pm UK time on Friday.
An internal memo said: “In an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path, we will go through the difficult process of reducing our global workforce on Friday.
“We recognise that this will impact a number of individuals who have made valuable contributions to Twitter, but this action is unfortunately necessary to ensure the company’s success going forward.”
Some UK employees woke up on Friday to find they had been logged out of their Twitter email accounts and workplace messaging app Slack, having been made redundant.
Well this isn’t looking promising. Can’t log into emails. Mac wont turn on.
But so grateful this is happening at 3am. Really appreciate the thoughtfulness on the timing front guys.
Meanwhile to everyone else at Twitter, you’re the best ❤️ #OneTeam pic.twitter.com/iWyAPeURcm— Chris Younie (@ChrisYounie) November 4, 2022
One Twitter executive said the job cuts were akin to the “Red Wedding” from the TV series Game of Thrones, where a clutch of popular characters were brutally killed.
Twitter staff posted tributes to colleagues on the platform as they found out that whole teams were being let go.
Staff posted messages in the company’s Slack app late into Thursday night, including “salute” and “heart” emojis, before colleagues began to drop offline from the company’s systems.
Twitter staff in the US sued the company on Friday over a lack of notice. Workers filed a class-action lawsuit in San Francisco saying the lay-offs were in violation of federal and California law, which requires up to 60 days of notice for mass job cuts.
In California, companies are required to give the state advanced notice about mass layoffs. The New York Times reported that California’s employment department had received no advanced warning.
In the UK, companies are supposed to give at least 30 days notice for a consultation if they plan to cut more than 20 staff. Under rules that govern the “transfer of undertaking”, or employment changes as a result of a takeover, UK staff are required to be informed and consulted about the process. Failure to do so can result in fines.
Most Twitter staff outside of the US have been left entirely in the dark about Mr Musk’s plans, learning details over Twitter or in news reports. Some offices have received almost no communication from senior executives until Thursday’s company-wide email.
Mr Musk has wasted no time in making sweeping changes at Twitter since taking charge. He has already fired Twitter’s chief executive, head of finance and legal. Most of the company’s c-suite, including staff in charge of advertising, engineering and diversity, have also resigned or been fired.
The Tesla chief has also directed Twitter teams to find up to $1bn in annual infrastructure cost savings, according to Reuters.
According to a screenshot posted by one Twitter employee who survived the cuts, they said: “I didn’t get laid off. I feel like vomiting though.”
