--- title: "Realizing Its Mistake, Twitter Pleads With Fired Employees to Come Back" description: "Some Twitter employees were reportedly laid off by mistake with management realizing they were needed after all to do Musk's bidding, Bloomberg reports." date: "2022-11-07" modified: "2022-11-07" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/twitter-fired-employees-come-back" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "elon musk" - "the digest" - "twitter" --- # Realizing Its Mistake, Twitter Pleads With Fired Employees to Come Back ![Some Twitter employees were reportedly laid off by mistake with management realizing they were needed after all to do Musk's bidding, Bloomberg reports.]() *\Image: JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images\* ## Please Come Back Twitter's operations have been plunged into [absolute chaos]() ever since Elon Musk took over the company. Last week, Musk laid off around half of the embattled social media company's staff, which was more or less expected. In a much more surprising twist, though, [*Bloomberg* reports]() that Twitter is now begging some of them to come back — in yet another sign that the billionaire CEO's takeover of Twitter has been, well, a [total ]()[mess](). ## Reinstated According to tech journalist Casey Newton, Twitter's management [sent out Slack messages]() asking others to nominate names of "folks that were left off," who should be reinstated. We're still unsure what Twitter's exact reasoning behind the decision is. Some anonymous employees have argued that Twitter is seeking to bring back employees to dodge a class action lawsuit, as [*Quartz* reports](), while others suggest it could be a way to appease advertisers by bringing back fired content moderation team members. Another likely explanation: in the rushed terminations, the company accidentally got rid of people who are critical to its operations. Employees at Twitter were left in the dark right up until the mass culling began on Friday. They were asked not to come into the office and had to await an email that informed them whether they'd been let go or not. Terminated workers were suddenly locked out of their email accounts, while international employees [had their work visas revoked](). Musk rationalized the move, though, [tweeting that]() "there is no choice when the company is losing over $4 million a day." ## Picking Up the Pieces Meanwhile, Musk is trying to force Twitter's users to pick up the tab by charging them $8 for verification checkmarks [without actually verifying identity](), a suggestion [many have balked at](). The company is also now [banning accounts]() for "impersonating" other users, which seems related to many users changing their display names to "Elon Musk" as a joke. All told, Twitter's operations seem to be in shambles right now — which doesn't bode well, especially considering tomorrow's midterm elections in the United States. The operation is also turning into a [giant hole in Musk's bottom line](). Whether he will be able to turn things around remains as unclear as ever. First, the dust has to settle. **READ MORE:** [Twitter Now Asks Some Fired Workers to Please Come Back]() \[*Bloomberg*\] **More on the mess:** *[Furious Elon Musk Pledges to Ban Anyone Who Changes Their Display Name to "Elon Musk"]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()