X (formerly Twitter)
HR fail: Riding roughshod over employee wellbeing
What happened?
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has divided opinion by slashing X’s headcount by a reported 90% since he acquired it for $44bn in November 2022.
Around half of the social media platform’s staff were laid off immediately after the deal, in a move Musk said was necessary to stabilise a company losing $4m a day.
Then, later in the month, he gave remaining employees a day to commit to being “extremely hardcore” and to either work “long hours” or exit the company.
Why the backlash?
Musk’s “hardcore” memo was branded “almost a case study in how to go against a lot of what research tells us is the best way to approach layoffs”, according Esther Sackett, assistant professor of management at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business.
Although fans of Musk admire his bluntness, Sackett argued the move showed a lack of concern for employee wellbeing that is typical of the hustle culture prevalent in big tech, HR Drive reported.
Musk himself went on to admit that “he threw some babies out with the bathwater” in his efforts to get costs under control.
Controversial quote:
“We will need to be extremely hardcore. This will mean working long hours at high intensity. Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade.”
Blowback rating: 9/10
Doug Woodburn is editor of IT Channel Oxygen
