Summary: Former Twitter platform X has been ordered to pay more than 550,000 euros ($602,640) to a former Irish employee in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit. The company’s former senior executives were found to have been wrongfully fired after failing to click “yes” on an email from Elon Musk confirming employees’ willingness to take part in a new “hardcore” work culture.
In November 2022, shortly after the end of the protracted battle to acquire Twitter, Musk emailed employees an ultimatum: either agree to a new, very hardcore “Twitter 2.0” with a minimum of 40 hours of work per week (average of 60+ hours) and a grueling workload, or quit the company. Employees had until 5 p.m. the following day to decide.
“This means working long hours at high intensity – only exceptional performance will pass,” Musk wrote in an email titled “At a Crossroads.”
To support Musk’s vision, people must click on a link in the email — anyone who doesn’t will be offered three months’ severance pay, Musk wrote.
To all the Twitter users who decided to make today their last day, thank you for being a great teammate through the good times and the bad. I can’t wait to see what you do next.
– Esther Crawford ⨠(@esthercrawford) November 17, 2022
Gary Rooney, who worked in procurement at Twitter International’s Dublin office, was one of the recipients. He never clicked the link to agree to join Twitter 2.0. Three days later, he received another email from his employer, “Confirming your decision to resign and accepting your offer of voluntary resignation.”
Looney, who had been with the company since 2013, said on Twitter a week later that he had never indicated he wanted to resign and had “never seen, let alone accepted, a separation agreement.”
The matter was taken to Ireland’s Workplace Relations Commission, where Rooney said he loved his job before Musk took over but was initially hesitant to open Musk’s emails for fear they were spam or malware.
“For my own sake I need to step away as I have been deeply troubled by what has been happening here recently,” Rooney wrote to colleagues in an internal Slack message after receiving the email.
-Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 18, 2022
Rooney told the WRC that the email did not explain the type of package he was offered, the impact of remaining at Twitter, his stock options or other benefits.
In a 73-page judgment, adjudicator Michael McNamee found the dismissal to be unfair. Twitter argued that Rooney’s own tweets about the Slack discussions and emails indicated he intended to resign, but the court ruled these were irrelevant.
“Employees faced with this situation cannot be blamed for refusing to be compelled to give their unconditional, time-barred consent to any of the proposals,” McNamee said, adding that 24 hours is not “reasonable notice.”
Rooney will be paid 550,131 euros ($605,763), consisting of 350,131 euros ($385,538) in lost earnings from January 2023 to May 2024 and 200,000 euros ($220,225) in future compensation.
Lauren Wegman, Twitter’s senior director of people, told the hearing that 235 of the 270 Irish employees who received the email clicked “yes.” Of the 35 who didn’t, Twitter “accepted their resignations.” It’s possible that some or all of them are watching the outcome of Rooney’s hearing with interest.
Mr Rooney’s lawyer, Barry Kenny, told the Guardian he welcomed “the clear and unequivocal verdict that my client did not resign but was unfairly dismissed despite his excellent employment record and contribution to the company over many years”.
“Mr. Musk, or any major company in this country, should not be allowed to treat their employees in this way. This record-breaking award reflects the seriousness and gravity of this case,” he said.