Elon Musk has lost a legal battle over unpaid severance pay for former Twitter employees who were fired when he took over the social media platform in 2022, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg News.
The resolution of the dispute, which was handled through arbitration, comes nearly two years after Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion and immediately fired more than half of its employees.
The move sparked more than 2,000 complaints from former employees who say they were unfairly paid in wages, and Friday’s legal victory could set a precedent for thousands of other former employees who have filed similar arbitration complaints.
“The arbitrator has ordered our client to receive full severance payments,” attorney Shannon Rhys Riordan said Monday in a memo obtained from two former Twitter employees who declined to disclose confidential information. “We are excited about this development and hope it is a harbinger of more good news to come.”
Rhys Riordan declined to comment on or disclose the arbitrator’s written award after his client’s case was heard in private with a private judge.
Company X did not respond to a request for comment.
In July, Musk and X Corp (the name the billionaire chose to rebrand Twitter) won a lawsuit arguing that about 6,000 laid-off employees should be paid at least $500 million in severance under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
Arbitration hearings are underway in 15 cases and she expects more decisions to be issued in the coming months, Rhys Riordan said in the memo.
“We are hopeful that as further rulings come into play, Twitter/X will come to the table and negotiate a settlement for everyone,” she wrote.
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