Former Twitter employees in Africa who were laid off are contemplating legal action against the company for allegedly reneging on their promised redundancy payments.
The majority had been employed for just a few months when the social media platform, now operating as X, informed them of their dismissal in November of the previous year.
“It’s difficult when it’s the world’s richest man owing you money and closure,” one of the sacked workers tells the media.
The BBC has attempted to seek comments from X on multiple occasions, but the responses received included, among other things, a smiling poop emoji.
A recent attempt at communication elicited the response, “Busy now, please check back later.”
The company has previously said that it had paid ex-employees in full.
Elon Musk, who assumed control of the company last year, initiated a sweeping worldwide workforce reduction, leading to the termination of over 6,000 employees. He had cited daily losses of over $4 million (£3.5 million).
The African team, comprising fewer than 20 members, had recently transitioned to X’s new office in Accra, Ghana, after working remotely for approximately eight months during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Former employees who were let go conveyed to the BBC that their treatment by X had adversely affected their mental well-being and their family’s financial situation.
They stated that initially, they were informed that despite their contracts being terminated, they would receive payment for an additional month of work. However, they were promptly denied access to their email accounts, and no further salary payments were issued.
Subsequently, the employees reported being engaged in a vexing, year-long battle with X to obtain compensation.
“Every time we get close, they go silent for weeks on end with no explanation. It has been one year since they were all laid off, defeating the entire purpose of a redundancy package, which is meant to cushion employees against the adverse effects of being laid off,” said Carla Olympio from Agency Seven Seven, the company providing legal representation to the staff.
In September, both parties reached an agreement that all negotiations and a settlement would have to be finalized by October 5th at the latest. However, as reported by Agency Seven Seven, X has repeatedly disregarded this and other previous deadlines.
Back in July, the BBC covered the claims made by former employees in Africa who alleged that X abruptly cut off communication during negotiations, leaving them without severance pay and other employment benefits, including health insurance, stock and share options, and unpaid leave allowances.
Several of them had been hired from neighboring countries like Nigeria. The termination of their contracts left them in a predicament in Ghana, having relocated their families.
At that moment, the BBC reached out to X for a response, and it was during this interaction that we received a response in the form of a smiling poop emoji.
Mr. Musk had previously tweeted that any email inquiries directed to their press office would be automatically answered with this emoji.
Africa staff gutted by mass culling
In an interview conducted in April, he informed the BBC that the social media behemoth now maintains a workforce of 1,500 employees, a significant reduction from the nearly 8,000 who were employed at the time of his acquisition.
When news of Mr. Musk’s extensive staff reduction was made public, he tweeted that the laid-off employees were provided with three months’ worth of severance pay.
But the staff sacked from the Africa office say they did not receive this.
According to Agency Seven Seven, X only initiated discussions with the dismissed African staff after the story was covered by the BBC. However, these negotiations have yielded no progress.
“We are now concluding arrangements with international colleague lawyers to pursue the matter in other jurisdictions, where Twitter, now X, might perhaps be compelled to do the right thing,” said Ms Olympio.
“With currency fluctuations, the entire payment due to them now would be less than a drop in the ocean and yet 12 months later, no payment. It is inexcusable,” she added. “It is a shame that the company, since its takeover by Mr Musk… should apparently be so reluctant to do right by this very small Africa team.”
The lawsuit filed by the African team against X is the most recent in a series of cases against the company by former employees. Some of them assert that they are still awaiting compensation after Mr. Musk’s $44 billion (£39.3 billion) acquisition last year.
Hope dies
At the beginning of this year, X faced a lawsuit filed by former employees in a California court, accusing the company of failing to honor promised severance packages, amounting to at least $500 million.
On a global scale, the number of arbitration cases against the organization had reached more than 2,200 as of August this year, as reported by CNBC.
A former staff member from Africa expressed to the BBC their weariness of repeatedly having their hopes shattered.
Another individual stated that they were in a state of shock but remained resolute in their determination to receive everything that was rightfully owed to them.