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Elon Musk is expected to make significant changes to Twitter’s ranks, and layoffs are likely.
The current CEO and CFO were ousted on Thursday evening. Other execs are expected to leave too.
Each will receive a large payday should they be fired by Musk.
Getting fired by Elon Musk will prove very lucrative for Twitter‘s top executives.
Musk just took over Twitter after a tumultuous few months in which he offered to buy it for $44 billion, tried to back out of the deal, was sued by Twitter and ultimately agreed to buy it again. Now in charge, Musk is expected to reorganize the business and cut the workforce.
Although the amount of Musk’s intended cuts is unclear, any such move is expected to include most of Twitter’s C-suite, people familiar with the acquisition deal have told Insider. On Thursday evening, the CEO, CFO, and top lawyer were already gone.
Getting fired by Musk will likely give the executives some of the largest payouts they’ve ever seen. Through “change in control” provisions in employment contracts for top leadership, they will receive a certain amount of severance and an automatic acceleration of their shares, so long as Musk fires them. The provisions are disclosed in regulatory filings.
Agrawal, who saw Musk turn on him months ago, is set to receive the largest payout of $38.7 million, due largely to the entirety of his shares vesting upon his firing.
Ned Segal, Twitter’s chief financial officer, is set to receive a $25.4 million payout for getting fired.
Vijaya Gadde, the chief legal officer, will leave with $12.5 million.
Sarah Personette, the chief customer officer, would get $11.2 million.
In the months between Musk taking a large investor stake in the company and becoming its new owner, Twitter’s executives have remained largely silent in public. When Agrawal attempted back in April to chastise Musk for some of his public comments about the platform, it led to Musk quickly turning on him and announcing his intent to take over the company. Now Musk will likely have to pay Agrawal on the way out.
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