The African headquarters of X, formerly known as Twitter, has finally paid off the staff it sacked more than a year ago, according to the agency representing them. The employees, based in Accra, Ghana, were laid off in November 2022, shortly after Elon Musk took over the company.
Initially, the employees threatened legal action against X for failing to pay promised redundancy money. The company had not commented on the matter until now.
Elon Musk’s takeover of X led to a significant global downsizing, resulting in the dismissal of over 6,000 employees, including fewer than 20 in Africa. The African staff had only recently moved into X’s new office in Accra after working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Agency Seven Seven, providing legal representation to the staff, confirmed that they had successfully secured a redundancy settlement and repatriation expenses for foreign staff. The exact amount of the payout was not disclosed.
The sacked employees had previously expressed frustration over their treatment by X, stating that it had adversely affected their mental health and finances. They claimed they were initially promised one more month’s pay after their contracts were terminated but were immediately locked out of their emails without further payment.
Despite Elon Musk’s statement that laid-off employees were given three months’ severance pay, the African staff reportedly did not receive this. Negotiations between X and the sacked Africa staff only began after the issue gained media attention, including coverage by the BBC.
Last year, X faced a lawsuit filed by ex-employees in a California court, alleging the company’s failure to pay at least $500 million in promised severance packages.