Twitter India only has some 12 employees left after Elon Musk’s massive cuts

More than 90 per cent of the social media company’s staff in India have been fired since Musk’s takeover last month, according to reports

Globally, the platform Musk acquired in a blockbuster US$44 billion buyout has reduced its headcount by about half, or roughly 3,700 workers

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Globally, the platform Elon Musk acquired in a blockbuster US$44 billion buyout last month has reduced its employee headcount by about half. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:03pm, 9 Nov 2022

Twitter Inc. has fired more than 90 per cent of its staff in India – part of global reductions by new owner Elon Musk – severely depleting its engineering and product staff in a potential growth market.

The company employed just over 200 people in India, and the cuts left it with only about a dozen staff, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

India is a key growth engine for global internet companies such as Twitter, Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, which are relying on its large potential pool of new online users. Yet the companies are also facing increasingly strict content regulations aimed at reining in big tech firms in the country.

A sign with the Twitter logo is seen at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco, California. Photo: AFP

About 70 per cent of the jobs cut in India were from the product and engineering team which worked on a global mandate, one of the people said. Positions were also slashed across functions including marketing, public policy and corporate communications, the people said.

Globally, San Francisco, California-based Twitter reduced its headcount by about half or roughly 3,700 workers.

Twitter didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

India has one of the most febrile political conversations on Twitter, with competing parties regularly slinging allegations back and forth and accusing each other of spreading misinformation.