Twitter employees sue the company over 2022 unpaid bonuses

Employees are suing Twitter over tens of millions of dollars in bonuses they say the social media company failed to pay despite promises it would. Twitter has a cash performance bonus plan that is paid out annually and in the months leading up to Elon Musk’s acquisition of the company in October.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in San Francisco claims that in the months leading up to billionaire Elon Musk’s acquisition of the company, executives including former finance chief Ned Segal “repeatedly” promised employees that 50% of their 2022 bonuses would be paid.

The proposed class-action complaint on behalf of current and former Twitter employees employed in the first quarter of 2023 who didn’t receive their bonus was filed by Mark Shobinger. Lawyers for the plaintiff are seeking class-action status on behalf of current and former Twitter employees. Shannon Liss-Riordan, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the bonuses Twitter owes are in the “tens of millions of dollars.”

Since Musk took over, Twitter has lost more than half its advertising revenue as brands stopped trusting the site to remove violent, pornographic, and hateful content. Twitter also shed more than 75% of its employees, through layoffs and resignations. The site has been roiled by technical difficulties, including during the recent launch of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ campaign for president.

Twitter, which has disbanded its media relations team, and doesn’t respond to requests for comment. And at this point, the company is facing multiple lawsuits from former employees as well as over unpaid rent and other unpaid bills.