Elon Musk tells Twitter staff: No more remote working
Elon Musk has told Twitter staff they will no longer be allowed to work remotely and will be expected in the office "at least" 40 hours a week, according to reports.
In Musk's first email to Twitter staff – which was seen by Bloomberg News and others – the Twitter CEO warned employees that there were "difficult times ahead" and that, effective immediately, remote working would no longer be permitted unless personally approved by Musk himself.
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Musk reportedly told staff there was "no way to sugar-coat the message" about the outlook for the company's finances – something that Musk has attributed in part to "activist groups pressuring advertisers" to cease spending.
Musk has been at the helm of Twitter for a short period but has already moved to axe up to half the social media platform's staff and announced a controversial shake-up of Twitter's verification policy that could see users buy blue-tick status for $8 a month. Musk wants to see subscriptions account for half of Twitter's revenue, according to Bloomberg. However, plans to open blue-tick status to anyone has led to concerns about disinformation, impersonation and content moderation on the platform.
Musk completed his $44bn acquisition of Twitter on October 27. The new Twitter chief has also eliminated "rest days" from Twitter employees' calendars, Bloomberg reports.
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Twitter was among the first major tech companies to announce a permanent "work from anywhere" policy back in 2020, when almost 70% of staff said they wanted to continue working from home for at least part of the working week.
Former Twitter CEO, Parag Agrawal, reiterated in March 2022 that employees should have the freedom to work from home or another location outside of the office, telling employees at the time that: "Decisions about where you work, whether you feel safe traveling for business and what events you attend, should be yours."
ZDNET has contacted Twitter for comment.