Parag Agrawal said Twitter has always cared about its employees and will continue to do so.
Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal tried to quell employee anger during a company-wide meeting on Friday, where employees demanded answers about how managers planned to deal with an expected mass exodus prompted by Elon Musk.
The meeting comes after Musk, the Tesla CEO who sealed a $44 billion deal to buy the social media company, repeatedly criticized Twitter’s content moderation practices and a top executive, who is responsible for setting speech and safety guidelines.
At the internal town hall meeting, heard by Reuters, executives said the company will monitor employee turnover on a daily basis, but it’s too early to say how the acquisition deal with Musk would affect employee retention.
Musk has urged lenders to cut board and executive salaries, according to sources familiar with the matter, but the exact cost cuts remain unclear. A source said Musk will not make decisions about job cuts until he takes ownership of Twitter.
“I’m tired of hearing about shareholder value and fiduciary duty. What are your honest thoughts on the very high probability that many employees will be out of jobs after the transaction closes?” a Twitter worker asked Agrawal in a question read at the meeting.
Agrawal replied that Twitter has always cared about its employees and will continue to do so.
“I believe that the future Twitter organization will continue to care about its impact on the world and its customers,” he said.
Executives said during the meeting that the employee turnover rate has not changed compared to levels prior to news of Musk’s interest in buying the company.
In recent days, Musk has leveled criticism at Twitter’s top attorney, Vijaya Gadde, who is a Twitter veteran and widely respected across Silicon Valley. Musk’s attack sparked a spate of online harassment aimed at her.
Staffers also told executives they fear Musk’s erratic behavior could destabilize Twitter’s business and hurt it financially as the company prepares to address the advertising world in a presentation next week in New York City.
“Do we have a short-term strategy for how we can deal with advertisers withdrawing investments,” asked one employee.
Sarah Personette, Twitter’s chief customer officer, said the company is working to communicate frequently with advertisers and reassure them “that the way we serve our customers is not changing.”
After the meeting, a Twitter official told Reuters there was little confidence in what the executives said.
“The PR talk doesn’t get through. You’ve told us we don’t lick and do a job you’re proud of, but there’s no clear incentive for employees to do so,” the employee told Reuters, noting that non-senior employee compensation is now capped because of the deal.
According to research firm Equilar, Agrawal will be paid an estimated $42 million if he is fired within 12 months of a change of control at the social media company.
During the meeting, Agrawal urged employees to anticipate changes in the future under new leadership, acknowledging that the company could have done better over the years.
“Yes, we could have done things differently and better. I could have done things differently. I think about it a lot,” he said.
Twitter declined further comment.
(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published by a syndicated feed.)