Former Twitter African Staffs Accuse Social Media Of Owing Them

Former Twitter employees in Africa who were laid off after entrepreneur Elon Musk purchased the platform claim they have yet to receive their severance pay.

Billionaire Elon Musk bought Twitter in October 2022 and immediately started a round of layoffs that affected hundreds of employees. Days after its actual office opened after a year of remote working, the company fired almost all of its employees in Ghana, its only African site, in November.

According to CNN, after being put off seven months ago, staffers at Twitter’s Accra, Ghana, office have yet to receive severance pay. According to reports, the former employees accepted Twitter’s offer to pay them three months’ severance pay, the cost of repatriating international employees, and legal fees paid during negotiations with the firm, but they have yet to receive the money or any additional communication.

Additionally, they admitted that despite the fact that the severance amount was less than what other colleagues received, they had consented to it regardless the lack of benefits.

Speaking to the news channel, a former Twitter Africa employee, said: “They literally ghosted us. 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.”

“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.

Carla Olympio, an attorney representing the former employees, stated that the last communication from Twitter or its lawyers occurred in May, shortly after the deal was reached.

A spokeswoman for Ghana’s Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations informed CNN that the claims are being investigated.