Published on 05:22 PM, July 19, 2023

Twitter faces lawsuit over severance pay of former employees

Twitter laid off more than half of its workforce as a cost-cutting measure after Musk acquired the company last October. Illustration: Zarif Faiaz/Tech & Startup

Twitter was recently sued for owing around $500 million in severance pay to former employees, as per a proposed class action lawsuit filed by former Twitter senior engineer Chris Woodfield. 

The proposed class action filed in Delaware federal court also alleges that the company targeted older workers for layoffs, a claim that has not been made in the other pending cases.

Woodfield, who worked for Twitter out of Seattle, says the company repeatedly told employees that they would receive two months' salary and other payouts if they were laid off, but that he and other workers have not received the money.

Twitter laid off more than half of its workforce as a cost-cutting measure after Musk acquired the company last October.

Twitter no longer has a media relations department and the company responded to an email seeking comment with an automatic response containing a poop emoji. The company has said in response to other lawsuits that laid-off workers have been paid in full.