Twitter Accused Of Failing To Settle Sacked Workers In Africa
More than seven months after leaving the company, reports have emerged that former employees of Twitter Africa who were let go as part of a global cost-cutting exercise following Elon Musk’s takeover are currently in the dark over their pay with no respite in sight.
The affected employees have not received any severance money, reports CNN, citing several sources who asked not to be identified. The sources claimed that although the former workers, who were based in Accra, the capital of Ghana, accepted Twitter’s offer in late May to pay them three months’ worth of severance, the price of repatriating foreign workers, and legal expenses incurred during negotiations with the company, they have not received the money or any other correspondence.
“They literally ghosted us,” one former Twitter Africa employee told CNN. Although Twitter has eventually settled former staff in other locations, Africa staff have still been left in the lurch despite us eventually agreeing to specific negotiated terms.”
The ex-employees claim that despite it being less than what their colleagues received, they grudgingly accepted the severance package without benefits.
“Twitter was non-responsive until we agreed to the three months because we were all so stressed and exhausted and tired of the uncertainty, reluctant to take on the extra burdens of a court case so we felt we had no choice but to settle,” another former employee told CNN.
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Because they claimed to have been compelled to sign non-disclosure agreements as part of their termination terms, the ex-employees spoke to CNN under the condition of anonymity.
The last communication from Twitter or its lawyers, according to Carla Olympio, an attorney who is representing the former employees, came in May, not long after a settlement was reached.
In response to CNN’s request for information on the status of the severance payout for the departing employees in the Ghana office, Twitter automatically responded with the emoji for “poop.” Uncertainty exists regarding the existence of Twitter’s public relations division. Musk announced on Twitter in March that Twitter would reply to all press queries with the symbol for “poop.”
CNN also sought feedback from Ghana’s Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations. According to a representative, the claims are being looked into.
Uncertainty surrounds Ghanaian authorities’ ability to compel Twitter to abide by the accord. The deal was never formalized, according to the former employees and their attorney.
Just four days after the social network established a physical office in Accra last November, the crew of about a dozen individuals was let go. Some of them claimed to have relocated to Ghana from other African countries and to have relied on their employment at Twitter to maintain their legal status there.
“We’re exploring our options with respect to causes of action against Twitter in various jurisdictions including Ghana,” Olympio told CNN.
After CNN revealed in November that the African team had received severance terms that were different from those extended to departing employees in Europe and North America, Twitter finally started talks with them.
More than 6,000 individuals had been let go since Musk finished his acquisition of the business in late October, Musk told the BBC in April, and currently, numerous plaintiffs are in court alleging that Twitter and Musk have failed to pay former employees what they are due.
