Elon Musk’s X has been ordered to pay compensation to a former employee of its Irish branch in an unfair dismissal lawsuit.
The Workplace Relations Commission, Ireland’s national body responsible for adjudicating employment disputes, said on Tuesday it had ordered the social networking platform formerly known as Twitter to pay more than 550,000 euros ($602,640) to former employees, the largest amount the commission has ever ordered, according to Irish broadcaster RTE.
Gary Looney, who held a senior procurement role at the time of his dismissal in December 2022, had been with the company since September 2013. The committee heard that the social media platform claimed the employee resigned voluntarily after failing to tick a box in an email from Musk, the company’s new owner, promising new, unspecified working conditions.
Looney said Musk sent thousands of Twitter employees an email demanding they commit to working long hours and “high intensity” hours during a period of change to stay with the company or accept an acquisition. Employees were given one day to click “yes” to agree to unspecified terms of employment.
The Commission rejected Mr X’s argument that Mr Rooney had resigned voluntarily and found that his failure to click “yes” in response to the email did not amount to a resignation.
“There is no way in this country or jurisdiction that Mr. Musk, or any major corporation, should treat their employees this way. The record-breaking award reflects the seriousness and gravity of this case,” plaintiffs’ lawyer Barry Kenney told Bloomberg.
The lawsuit is one in a wave of lawsuits since Musk bought Twitter, which has come under increased scrutiny since the company was acquired by multiple lawsuits alleging that Twitter employees have not received the severance packages they were promised.
The dispute arose in Dublin after billionaire Musk took ownership of the platform in late 2022. It had around 500 employees in the Irish capital before the acquisition but has since been affected by a global exodus of staff from the company.
In its 73-page judgment, the WRC said the emails were sent “at a time of rapid change at Twitter and in the context of inconsistent, contradictory and confusing communications from the Respondent in relation to Mr Musk’s acquisition of the company.”
Company X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has 42 days to appeal to the Labor Court.
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