August 16, 2024, 10:28 AM
Twitter, now rebranded as X, has been ordered to pay damages to a former employee in a wrongful termination lawsuit.
Twitter, now renamed X, has been ordered to pay compensation to a former employee in an unfair dismissal case. The social media platform has been asked to pay €550,000 (around Rs 50 million) to Gary Rooney, who was fired in December 2022 after the company was acquired by Elon Musk.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris, France, June 16, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo (Reuters)
As reported by Fortune magazine, Rooney had worked at Twitter’s Irish branch since September 2013. On Tuesday, the Irish Labour Relations Commission ruled that he was unfairly dismissed in December 2022 and ordered Company X to pay €550,000, the maximum amount the commission has ordered.
The circumstances that led to the dismissal
Shortly after the acquisition of Twitter in November 2022, Elon Musk sent a company-wide email demanding that employees commit to working “long hours and high intensity” or receive “three months of severance pay.” Employees, including Looney, were given one day to click “yes” in the email to accept the new working conditions proposed by Musk, who was Twitter’s CEO at the time.
“If you’re sure you want to be part of the new Twitter, please click ‘Yes’ at the link below,” Musk wrote in the email, adding that employees who don’t would be given three months’ severance pay.
X claimed that Looney resigned voluntarily because he failed to click “yes” to Elon Musk’s ultimatum.
But the Irish Workplace Relations Commission refused to accept the argument. “It is not acceptable for Mr Musk, or any major company, to treat employees in this way in this country or jurisdiction. The record amount of compensation reflects the seriousness and gravity of this case,” plaintiffs’ lawyer Barry Kenny told Bloomberg.
Tesla billionaire Elon Musk acquired Twitter Inc. for $44 billion in October 2022. Shortly after acquiring the company, he fired nearly half of its employees and issued a harsh ultimatum to those who remained.
News / Trending / X ordered to pay Rs 5 crore to employee fired for not replying to Elon Musk’s email
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