TAOISEACH MICHEAL MARTIN has said that the manner in which Twitter Dublin staff learned of layoffs in the company was “unacceptable”.
Speaking to reporters at a conference of Fianna Fáil councillors this morning, Martin said the news that 140 staff are to be let go is “a matter of great anxiety” for those affected, particularly since they were happening so close to Christmas.
“The manner in which this has been communicated to them by Twitter … in my view, it’s unacceptable,” he said.
Twitter staff are continuing to leave the company en masse, with reports that in the US that the company has closed its offices over concerns that disgruntled employees may sabotage operations.
New CEO Elon Musk sacked half of Twitter’s 7,500 global workforce a week after taking over the company, ended remote working and set an ultimatum for remaining staff to agree to longer, more intense working patterns or leave.
And so much of its workforce now gone, there is much speculation that the site will crash during the FIFA World Cup – one of the site’s busiest traffic events.
The Taoiseach said: “People need to be treated with dignity and respect, and that has not happened in the context of the Twitter announcements. It’s been a frenzy.
“It’s been very uncertain for employees, it’s been very sudden, and they’ve been treated, I think, in an unacceptable way. There’s a better way to work through these issues.”
Additional reporting by PA
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