7-year head of Twitter in France now out of a job
PARIS — Twitter’s head of France announced his departure in a tweet on Sunday ahead of what may be additional layoffs at the embattled platform.
Damien Viel, who confirmed his departure in a separate message to Bloomberg, had led the region for about seven years. A number of workers at the Paris office, which had fewer than 50 employees before billionaire Elon Musk took over last month, are focused on advertiser relationships.
Musk, who’s already cut Twitter’s workforce in half in sweeping job cuts that included much of the company’s management, is considering additional job eliminations to begin as soon as this week. They’ll likely focus on the sales and partnerships side of the business, people familiar with the matter have said.
“It’s over. Pride, honor and mission accomplished,” Viel tweeted.
Viel declined to comment on the circumstances of his departure or how many Twitter employees remain in Paris.
After an initial round of cuts, which eliminated about 3,700 jobs at Twitter, Musk sent an email around to employees requiring them to opt in to a “hardcore” culture or accept a severance payment. More employees, particularly those in technical roles, left than expected, creating fears about risks to the company’s operations, people familiar with the matter said previously.
On Friday, Musk asked the leaders of the sales and marketing and the partnerships teams to agree to cut even more employees, people familiar with the matter said. The executives, Robin Wheeler and Maggie Suniewick, refused and lost their jobs, the people said.
Last week, Paris-based fashion house Balenciaga joined other brands in quitting Twitter, deleting its account after Musk acquired the social-media platform and upended content rules. Other companies have paused advertising on the platform, including General Motors, Volkswagen, Pfizer and General Mills.
Musk, who’s already cut Twitter’s workforce in half in sweeping job cuts that included much of the company’s management, is considering additional job eliminations to begin as soon as this week.