Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) has reportedly been left unable to protect users from harmful content online following layoffs which have seen most of its workforce cut since Elon Musk’s October takeover.
A host of surviving and ex-employees told the BBC that Twitter was facing shortages and little was getting done at the company after its workforce dropped from 8,000 to below 2,000 people – as CNBC estimates - since Musk bought the site for US$44bn.
"A totally new person, without the expertise, is doing what used to be done by more than 20 people,” an unnamed worker said in quotes reported by the BBC, leaving room for “much more risk”.
They even hinted some position had been left simply vacant, a prospect that has left the social media a less safe place altogether.
Twitter users have been struck by a series of outages in recent months, with Musk reportedly telling its severely reduced workforce to pause new product development to fix issues.
"For someone on the inside, it's like a building where all the pieces are on fire," the worker added.
Twitter was warned it needed to bring its content moderation policies in line with EU rules in late January by September, or risk facing fines worth 6% of its annual revenue.
This would add to woes for Musk, who has already seen advertisers flee from the site, prompting a 40% reduction in year-on-year revenue in January, likely adding to daily losses which already sat at US$4mln when he took charge.
Sorry for turning Twitter from nurturing paradise into place that has … trolls ???? pic.twitter.com/HaWl1jPfOm
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2023
Musk had been hit by a 65% fall in Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)'s share price last year, as investors became agitated at his selling-off of the stock to take Twitter private.
Twitter’s competitors Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP), which owns Snapchat, Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Pinterest Inc (NYSE:PINS) all rose in Monday’s early trading following the news, climbing 11%, 1% and 2% respectively.
Tesla fell over 1% meanwhile.