Twitter new Africa office lets go of staff as Elon Musk orders massive layoffs globally

Most people didn’t think that the 3,700 Twitter employees reportedly laid off today, would extend to the company’s African office in Ghana.

The company had earlier notified members of staff via email that it planned to cut down on the number of employees “in an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path.” Bloomberg reporting the possible number of potential dismissal might be 50% of the company’s workforce.

Twitter’s Africa Office has only been in operation for about twelve months and even launched its office a couple of days ago and now this! Innovation Village is still digging deep to deduce the exact number of affected employees at the company’s office in Ghana.

However, Bernard Sokpe, former Senior Partner Manager at Twitter Africa. tweeted a remark that seemed he was one of the Ghanaians affected by the mass layoffs.

“It’s been a year working at a place I never imagined I’ll ever get to work.I’m glad that I could represent for Africa & I didn’t let us down. My best career experience by far & it was beautiful whilst it lasted. Much love to all the amazing tweeps that made it worth it,” he said.

In the meantime, several of the affected workers have posted responses on the microblogging site. Some were grateful for the opportunity to work with the organisation, while others were saddened by the swift termination of their employment.

Former Twitter Senior Engineer Joan Deitchman wrote:

“Yep, the team is gone. The team that was researching and pushing for algorithmic transparency and algorithmic choice. The team that was studying algorithmic amplification. The team that was inventing and building ethical AI tooling and methodologies. All that is gone.”

Another ex-staff affected by the layoff, Rumman Chowdhury, tweeted that it was “a bittersweet phase – not because I’m gone, but because it’s gone.”  

Kara Rosenberg Tweeted: “I Can finally say how it feels to #lovewhereyouworked. What a wild ending to the job of a lifetime. Thank you for everything, Twitter.” 

Cristina Angeli wrote: “It’s official. It’s been an honour. Twitter Studio Managing Director Out. So much love to the team that rode the wave with me. Put up with my slack sappy love notes. Navigated big challenges + created award-winning work. Onward we go. Tweep fam 4 life.” 

Another affected employee who has spent 9 years with the company, who simply identified herself as Regina, tweeted: “I never imagined my time here would end like this. Forever thankful for the 9+ years tweeps.” 

Earlier today, some “ex-employees” reportedly filed a class-action lawsuit against Twitter. The lawsuit is based on the U.S. Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which prevents major employers from implementing widespread layoffs without providing at least 60 days’ notice.

The lawsuit is requesting the court to compel Twitter to obey the WARN Act and to stop asking employees to sign documents that potentially limit their legal rights.