Soon after the company told them to expect layoffs, they lost access to work platforms.
Workers were locked out of their email and chat accounts after 8 pm. Employees told Insider that they worked on Thursday night. The employees were certain they could count themselves among the 3,700 of their colleagues expected to be hit with Musk's planned layoffs.
One person said it was going east to west. The first people to find out were in London, New York and the Midwest. Multiple employees said that California is likely to be next.
One person affected by the layoffs in New York said their entire team was gone. A large group of people worked on the project. Most of the team was cut, according to another person.
The first communication from the company came hours before. The note was sent after Insider reported the layoffs. All affected workers will get an email at 9 am or 6 am on Friday.
Multiple employees said that no one had received an email when employees were cut.
The company said it was temporarily closing all offices. It was sudden and took some workers off guard, especially as Musk had started to demand intense levels of work since taking over. It made sense to move people out of the office as soon as possible after people were laid off.
A person affected by the layoffs said it was a break up by text.
In response to the news that they could expect layoffs on Friday, hundreds of workers flooded the chat room with blue hearts, signifying love for their colleagues, and the "salute" symbol.
An employee said that the band was going down with the ship after the Titanic hit an ice cap. A number of high ranking managers were fired by Musk last week.
In an effort to make it the best possible final day, workers in the New York and San Francisco offices took pictures with one another. Musk's planned mass layoffs were referred to as "the Thanos snap" by employees in private text messages.
Another worker said he was relieved. The last week working under Musk has been referred to as the "Hunger Games" by one person.
Musk wants constant work, rapid changes to projects he deems critical and removing perks from employees. On Thursday, workers realized that a company-wide day of rest had been removed from their calendars. Jack Dorsey, a former CEO and co-founder of the company, often urged people to take time for themselves. Insider reported that Musk wants people to work at a "maniacal" pace and that he wants them to work 24 hours a day.
Musk is going to make a lot of different things happen, as well as a lot smaller.
Do you have insight to share with others? Contact Kali Hays at khays@insider.com, on the secure messaging app Signal, or through the official account on the social media platform. Use a non work device.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
