SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 13 (UPI) — As expected, Twitter took its first step Tuesday in trimming the fiscal fat off the social media giant — which executives believe is unnecessarily costing millions of dollars a year.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey addressed the layoffs in a company-wide email and an 8-K filing Tuesday. In the memo, he said laying off 8 percent of the workforce is difficult — but also that it was “right.”
The layoffs, which analysts expected to occur this week, impact Twitter’s engineering department more than any other.
“Emails like this are usually riddled with corporate speak so I’m going to give it to you straight,” Dorsey wrote. “We feel strongly that Engineering will move much faster with a smaller and nimbler team, while remaining the biggest percentage of our workforce. And the rest of the organization will be streamlined in parallel.”
“So we have made an extremely tough decision: We plan to part ways with up to 336 people from across the company,” the memo added. “We are doing this with the utmost respect for each and every person. Twitter will go to great lengths to take care of each individual by providing generous exit packages and help finding a new job.”
The severance pay will cost Twitter between $10 million and $20 million, the 8-K filing said.
Analysts have previously said Twitter had become a bit too bloated and needed to cut costs. The company’s spending increased nearly 50 percent between 2014 and 2015 — and Twitter recently pulled the plug on a plan to move into a 100,000-square-foot office building across the street from its San Francisco headquarters.
Prior to the layoffs, Twitter had employed more than 4,000 people in 35 offices worldwide.
“Thank you all for your trust and understanding here. This isn’t easy. But it is right,” Dorsey wrote. “The world needs a strong Twitter, and this is another step to get there.”
