2 Twitter leaders fired in wake of Musk’s deal
Most hiring frozen, budget slashed as media giant copes
SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter’s CEO fired two top executives, froze most new hiring and said he was slashing spending Thursday, as the social media company tries to change its business trajectory while grappling with a takeover from Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.
In a memo shared with employees and obtained by the New York Times, CEO Parag Agrawal said the company was pausing most hiring and pulling back on discretionary spending. The moves stemmed partly from Twitter not hitting goals in audience and revenue growth,
Agrawal wrote.
Kayvon Beykpour, Twitter’s general manager, and Bruce
Falck, the general manager for revenue, are leaving, the memo said. Beykpour is being replaced by Jay Sullivan, the interim general manager of consumer product, the memo said.
“It’s critical to have the right leaders at the right time,” Agrawal said in the memo.
Brian Poliakoff, a Twitter spokesperson, confirmed the memo and Agrawal’s changes. He declined to comment further.
The changes raise questions for Musk about his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter. The billionaire is paying $54.20 a share for the firm. But Twitter’s shares have been sinking, part of a broader pullback in technology stocks, and hovered at $45.22 on Thursday.
Agrawal’s moves also signal that the company’s business, which relies mainly on digital advertising, is troubled. Last month, Twitter reported quarterly revenue growth and profits that fell short of what Wall Street had been anticipating.
Musk has said he will take Twitter private and wants to improve the product. The billionaire, who is still lining up some financing for the purchase, is expected to close the deal for Twitter in the next few months.
While Agrawal attempts to overhaul the company, Twitter has been in an uproar over Musk’s takeover. At a company meeting on the day the deal was announced, Agrawal answered questions about how the deal came to be, what would happen to employees’ compensation and jobs, and how Musk might change Twitter.
“Some of you are concerned, some of you are excited and some of you are waiting to see how this goes. I know this affects all of you personally,” he said at the time. He later added, “Once the deal closes, we don’t know what direction this company will go in.”