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Twitter logo before Elon Musk: Numerous layoffs
Photo: DADO RUVIC / REUTERS
After being taken over by billionaire Elon Musk, Twitter apparently no longer has any interest in an independent department for press and public relations in Germany.
This emerges from a report by the Bloomberg news agency.
Accordingly, the former head of the communications department complained to the Hamburg labor court against his dismissal.
At a hearing, the dismissed manager explained to the court that the dissolution of his team would affect the operation of Twitter in Germany and that it was - literally - "very difficult" to handle the company's German-language communication from Dublin.
Like many other companies, the company also operates its headquarters in the capital of Ireland for the so-called EMEA region, as the countries of Europe, the Middle East
and Africa (E urope,
Middle
East
,
A
frica
)
.
According to Bloomberg, a company lawyer described the layoffs as a result of "company restructuring under new leadership."
mass layoffs
Since taking over the company at the end of October, Elon Musk has made a name for himself several times with mass layoffs.
During his first three weeks as CEO, he fired thousands of contractors and sent home half of the company's once 7,500 employees, angering the remaining skeleton crew.
But the Tesla boss and space enthusiast sent an ultimatum to those who had stayed until then: Anyone who did not commit to the company by a specified date should leave Twitter and pay three months' salary.
He promised those who wanted to stay that the company would be "extremely hardcore" in the future.
A little later, the employees were temporarily denied access to the company headquarters in San Francisco, Twitter did not give a reason for this.
One of the particularly drastic examples of how Twitter is currently dealing with employees is the example of a team in Ghana.
The company had just opened its new Africa headquarters there, only to close it four days later.
According to media reports, all but one employee were fired.
Musk recruiting
Apparently, this doesn't stop some people from signing up with Musk.
As late as November, after sacking thousands, the "Chief Twit," as Musk calls himself, announced new hires.
Observers like the Hamburg political scientist Ingrid Schneider fear that Twitter could develop into an "extremist battlefield" due to Musk's attitude.
Also contributing to this assessment is that while he is cutting jobs and thus moderation opportunities, he is allowing many people who were banned before he became Twitter boss back into the network.
Also, but certainly not only because of this, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is considering leaving the platform.