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Twitter tells worried employees their vested shares will be paid in coming days



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The Twitter profile page belonging to Elon Musk is seen on an Apple iPhone mobile phone.Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesAfter Elon Musk closed his $44 billion purchase of Twitter last week, employees at the company braced for job cuts. Some told CNBC they were worried about losing their equity compensation if Musk sent them packing before their shares vested the first week of November.Musk and Tesla have been sued repeatedly over employees’ claims that they were fired just before their shares vested, depriving them of compensation.However, it appears that the current tranche of stock-based compensation for many Twitter employees, who were there before Musk took over, will get paid out after all.According to employees at the company and internal communications viewed by CNBC, newly vesting shares are expected to be paid in the first half of November, starting as early as Nov. 4. Employees said they were reassured by managers that the company’s payroll department was working on processing their vested stock.Tech companies are known for paying a high percentage of their compensation through stock awards, and Twitter has been notably reliant on equity payouts. In the first six months of 2022, Twitter recorded a stock-based compensation expense of $459.5 million, up from $289.1 million during the same period a year earlier. That’s close to 20% of Twitter’s revenue for the quarter.Musk has indicated many times in recent months that Twitter is overstaffed and that one of his first moves would be to make dramatic reductions. He’s already gotten rid of top executives, starting with the CEO, CFO, policy chief and other high-ranking leaders and their direct reports. Musk reportedly fired them “for cause,” potentially to avoid paying millions of dollars in so-called golden parachutes.It’s not clear whether other executives and employees who were fired or who resigned after Musk bought the company will be co …

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