Former Twitter employees get severance offer after months of waiting. Many are unhappy with it

[nightwing1240]

After months of uncertainty and feeling left in the dark, many former Twitter employees impacted by a mass layoff in early November began receiving their severance offers over the weekend. But some are frustrated by the offer and the conditions attached to it.

The severance offer promises one month’s pay in exchange for agreeing to various terms, including a non-disparagement agreement and waiving the right to take any legal action against the company, according to Lisa Bloom, a lawyer representing dozens of former Twitter employees affected by the layoffs.

Many were dissatisfied by the offer, according to public posts and attorneys representing ex-employees, saying it falls short of the “3 months of severance” that new owner Elon Musk had previously promised would be provided. (That time period appeared to include pay for the 60-days advanced notice Twitter was obligated to provide under various state laws.) The amount is also significantly less than provided at rivals like Facebook-parent Meta, which laid off thousands of workers around the same time and guaranteed them 16 weeks of base pay plus two additional weeks for each year they were employed at the company.

snip

“We’ve been hearing from hundreds of Twitter employees who are considering their options and not happy about only being offered one month severance, after they were promised much more,” Shannon Liss-Riordan, another lawyer working on behalf of former Twitter employees, told CNN in a statement Monday. “We have filed hundreds of arbitration claims already and will continue to file them.”

Link - https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/09/tech/twitter-layoffs-severance-offers/index.html
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Elon Musk not keeping his promises? Not a surprise there. The guy may be wealthy but he is empty inside

[Walleye]

1. Non-disparagement agreement, snowflakes can't take a little criticism

I don’t even think there’s agreements are enforceable. Say whatever you want, people, let Elon try to sue 10,000 people

[FBaggins]

2. Such agreements are both common and enforceable

Now… “enforceable” is certainly easier while there are pending payments to the former employee (since it’s easier to cut off a check than to sue to get it back)… so the shorter the severance, the shorter the leash that they have you on. It’s also true that it isn’t likely that the company will either know or do anything about “my boss is a jerk” statements to friends that never end up in the news.

One exception is a recent California law that makes clear that such clauses can’t be used to keep former employees from revealing illegal conduct.

[Walleye]

3. That is interesting, thank you. Makes sense

I remember a Kurt Vonnegut story where every American has the right to tell their boss to go take a flying fuck at a rolling donut

[exboyfil]

4. It depends on whether that was a condition of the severance offer to begin with

He can't come back later and add that stimulation as a condition of receiving the payment (well he can but that would be another factor in the arbitration). I wonder if arbitration would also consider penalties for not initially honoring his agreements.

As far as it not being the industry norm, without a contract or legal requirement, Musk can do whatever he choses to do. He is looking for like minded a-holes so he isn't probably concerned about the reputation of the company for hiring and retaining future talent.

Note Twitter is still up and running so at least to this point, his decisions haven't led to the doom scenarios many envisioned.

[FBaggins]

5. This is "the severance offer to begin with"

The first 60 days was required by law (in lieu of 60 days notice of a layoff), so no agreement was necessary. Then the agreement was delayed because there was a lawsuit claiming that Twitter had to include notice of the lawsuit in the severance agreement.

They just lost on that point a couple of weeks ago (and the 60 days is ending), which is why the agreements are going out now.