Twitter on Thursday suffered an exodus of remaining top executives while its new billionaire owner, Elon Musk, warned that bankruptcy was a possibility as he wrestles to bring the platform’s finances under control.
In one of the most bruising days for Twitter since Musk closed his $44bn buyout of the social media company two weeks ago, its head of trust and safety, Yoel Roth, resigned, according to two people familiar with the situation.
Roth had emerged as one of Musk’s trusted leaders after the Tesla chief laid off more than half of Twitter’s 7,500-strong workforce last week, and had been instrumental in attempts to reassure wary advertisers that toxic content was not overwhelming the platform.
Twitter’s chief information security officer, Lea Kissner, and chief privacy officer Damien Kieran both announced that they had left on Thursday, while Twitter’s chief compliance officer also exited, according to one person familiar with the matter. Robin Wheeler, who had taken the helm of Twitter’s ads sales team, has also left the company, according to multiple media reports.
Separately, in an all-hands meeting with some engineering staff on Thursday, Musk warned that the company might have net negative cash flow of several billion dollars, adding that bankruptcy was not out of the question, according to a person familiar with the matter. The comments were first reported by The Information.
“Honestly, it feels like chaos,” said one staffer, who added of the all-hands: “It was just rambling incoherency.”
The stream of exits caps a tumultuous fortnight for Twitter, as concerns grow about its data security and compliance with privacy rules, particularly given the speed with which the platform has rolled out some features since Musk took over.
The US Federal Trade Commission, a top consumer protection regulator, said on Thursday that it was “tracking recent developments at Twitter with deep concern”. Twitter signed a strict consent decree in 2011 pledging to better protect user data, which the regulator continues to oversee.
“No CEO or company is above the law, and companies must follow our consent decrees,” the FTC added. “Our revised consent order gives us new tools to ensure compliance, and we are prepared to use them.”
Separately, a company lawyer warned in the company’s Slack channel that Musk was taking a cavalier attitude to privacy regulations and that the company potentially risked significant fines from the FTC, according to a report from The Verge that was confirmed by a person who viewed the post.
Beyond regulatory concerns, Musk, a self-declared “free speech absolutist”, faces an uphill battle to revive Twitter’s already struggling business.
Already on Friday he warned of a “massive drop in revenue” as major brands such as General Motors, Mondelez and Carlsberg have paused spending on the platform over concerns for his plans to loosen content moderation.
He also faces $1bn in annual interest payments after loading the company with $13bn of debt to help fund his acquisition of the business.
Meanwhile, Musk’s attempts to open new revenue streams have hit hurdles. The rollout of Twitter Blue, a premium subscription service costing $7.99 a month, which includes a “blue check” previously only available to high-profile users, brands and celebrities, has already resulted in some attempted impersonations. Eli Lilly apologised “to those who have been served a misleading message from a fake Lilly account” that said the drugmaker was giving away free insulin.
Critics warn the shift away from the previous blue check model will also alienate the famous figures that Twitter needs to bring in their audiences.
Musk addressed Twitter’s staff on Thursday for the first time in an email, seen by the Financial Times, warning that the social media platform needs “intense work” in the office to turn round its fortunes.
He added that he was scrapping its working from home policy and demanding staff work 40 hours in the office a week, in a significant shake- up to its working practices.
In Thursday’s all-hands meeting, Musk had added that not coming into the office would be viewed as akin to handing in one’s resignation, one person said. The departures were first reported by The Verge and Platformer.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.