Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has released a series of tweets to address the recent controversy around Elon Musk’s takeover and the decision to lay off some top executives.
Elon Musk’s bid to buy Twitter created lot of speculation and controversy around the company. Initial board objections and numerous lawsuits also made Twitter the top spot in recent months. The federal regulators also started their investigations over Musk’s late disclosure of Twitter stock. But, Twitter’s takeover deal seems to face a serious obstacle, and Musk decided to put it on hold temporarily.
As we reported a few days ago, Twitter’s CEO asked some top executives, Kayvon Beykpour and Bruce Falck, to leave the company. They are both two key members of Twitter’s consumer and revenue products. Agrawal told Beykpour that he wanted to take the team in a different direction.
Agrawal says he is “accountable for leading and operating” Twitter. Also, their job is to “build a stronger Twitter every day.”
Moreover, Agrawal noted that he “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.”
He also said that users should expect more change for the better. Besides laying off some top executives, Agrawal also announced freezing recruitment and efforts to reduce costs.
Twitter must be ready for all scenarios, the CEO says
Musk’s decision to “temporarily on hold” Twitter’s $44 billion deal also pushed Agrawal to clarify the company’s latest situation. Musk says he is putting Twitter’s takeover on hold due to concerns over spam and fake accounts. While he later said he is “still committed to the acquisition,” Twitter’s stock plummeted by 10-percent following the news.
“While I expect the deal to close, we need to be prepared for all scenarios and always do what’s right for Twitter,” Agrawal said.
Despite the investors’ concerns, the deal seems to still be in place. Matt Levine at Bloomberg says putting a deal on hold “is not a thing.” Also, Twitter chairman Bret Taylor reacted to Musk’s hopeful tweet and said, “We remain committed to our agreement.”
2022-05-16 15:06:35