Former Twitter Employees Set to Receive Severance Pay After Musk’s X Settles Lawsuit
After more than two years since their departure from Twitter, some former employees may finally see their severance pay as a result of Elon Musk’s X settling a class action lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed by workers who were laid off shortly after Musk acquired Twitter.
The news of the settlement came through a recent court filing, where both parties requested a delay in an upcoming hearing to work towards a resolution.
Following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in 2022, over 6,000 employees were let go, resulting in an 80% reduction in the company’s workforce. While Musk offered three months’ severance, the lawsuit alleges that many employees did not receive their full payments, with some not receiving any payment at all.
Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that Musk’s severance offer was lower than what employees were entitled to under Twitter’s severance plan established in 2019. The previous plan guaranteed senior employees severance of up to six months’ base pay, in addition to one week of pay per year of service.
Despite a ruling in July by a U.S. District Judge in San Francisco stating that Musk was not obligated to honor the severance agreements made by these employees with Twitter, the plaintiffs appealed the decision. The parties were scheduled to present oral arguments in a court of appeals next month before requesting a postponement of the hearing.