Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal announced Thursday a hiring freeze and two high-level departures from Twitter’s executive ranks.
Reaction to a company-wide communication the CEO sent prompted a Twitter storm from him Friday he characterized as an explanation.
The departures of consumer product leader Kayvon Beykpour and head of revenue product Bruce Falck came after the company accepted a buyout offer from Elon Musk.
Many view Agrawal as a caretaker keeping the CEO’s chair warm until Musk completes his expected purchase of the social media company. So, why get rid of people in the meantime?
“People have also asked: why manage costs now vs after close?” Agrawal said in a Friday Twitter post. “Our industry is in a very challenging macro environment – right now. I won’t use the deal as an excuse to avoid making important decisions for the health of the company, nor will any leader at Twitter.”
The CEO explained he expects the deal to close but the company needs to be prepared for all scenarios and always do what’s right for Twitter. “I’m accountable for leading and operating Twitter, and our job is to build a stronger Twitter every day,” he added.
“No one at Twitter is working just to keep the lights on,” the CEO followed. “We take pride in our work. Regardless of the company’s future ownership, we’re here improving Twitter as a product and business for customers, partners, shareholders, and all of you.”
In the final post in the thread, he gave employees a synopsis of what they can expect from him going forward. “I’m still focused on doing the job, and that includes making hard decisions as needed. I will continue to embrace the deep complexities of our service and our business,” he stated. “And you can expect more change for the better.”
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