Twitter Inc has shut two of its three India offices and told its staff to work from home, underscoring Elon Musk’s mission to slash costs and get the struggling social media service in the black.
Twitter, which fired more than 90% of its roughly 200-plus staff in India late last year, closed its offices in the political center New Delhi and financial hub of Mumbai, people aware of the matter said. The company continues to operate an office in the southern tech hub of Bengaluru that mostly houses engineers, the people said, declining to be identified as the information is private.
Billionaire Chief Executive Officer Musk has fired staff and shut offices around the world as part of an effort to get Twitter financially stable by late 2023. Yet India is regarded as a key growth market for US tech giants from Meta Platforms Inc to Alphabet Inc’s Google, which are making long-term bets on the world’s fastest-growing internet arena. Musk’s latest moves suggests he’s attaching less importance to the market for now.
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Elon Musk becomes first person in history to erase $200 billion wealth
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The Tesla CEO has now achieved a first of his own: The only person in history to erase $200 billion from peak net worth. (Picture courtesy: Avatar AI)<br />
At present, Musk is the 2nd richest person in the world with a net worth of $124 billion as per Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His fortune peaked at $340 billion on November 4, 2021, and he remained the world’s richest till overtaken in December. (Picture Courtesy: Avatar AI)<br />
The erosion in Elon Musk’s wealth has been mainly on account of a plunge in share price of Tesla. (Picture courtesy: Avatar AI)<br /><br />
The decline in Tesla shares has been so steep – the shares fell 65% in 2022 – and Musk has sold so much this year to help cover his Twitter purchase, that they’re no longer his biggest asset. (Picture courtesy: Avatar AI)<br />
In October 2022, Musk acquired social media platform Twitter for $44 billion after months of twists and turns. <br />
On the day Musk stepped into Twitter’s San Francisco office after its takeover, he walked the halls of the office carrying a sink and shared the video on his handle. <br />
Just a week after taking control of Twitter, Musk laid off roughly 50% of its more than 7,000 employees. (Picture courtesy: Avatar AI)<br />
Musk has scrambled to cut costs, warning that Twitter may face bankruptcy. The company faces multiple suits over unpaid bills, including for private chartered plane flights, software services and rent at one of its San Francisco offices. (Picture courtesy: Avatar AI)<br />
Last month, in a poll started by Musk, majority of Twitter users voted for him to step down as the chief executive of the company. (Picture courtesy: Avatar AI)<br /><br /><br />
Musk also holds 42.2% shares of his closely held Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), at a valuation of $44.8 billion. (Picture courtesy: Avatar AI)<br /><br />
Twitter has evolved in past years into one of India’s most important public forums, home to heated political discourse and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 86.5 million followers. Yet revenue there isn’t significant for Musk’s company, which also has to contend with strict content regulations and increasingly savvy local competition.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An exodus of workers — many of whom were fired — since Musk’s acquisition has raised concerns about whether Twitter can sustain its operations and regulate content. Musk this week said he may need till the end of the year to stabilize the company and make sure it’s financially healthy.
Since the $44 billion buyout, Twitter has failed to pay millions of dollars in rent for its San Francisco headquarters and London offices, been sued by multiple contractors over unpaid services, and auctioned off everything from bird statues to espresso machines to raise money.
Musk has also openly floated the idea of bankruptcy, and cited a “massive drop” in revenue as advertisers fled over concerns about Twitter’s ability to weed out undesirable content. The platform has also experienced significant glitches and outrages, most recently just this month.
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