Elon Musk loses layoff pay fight with ex-Twitter worker, memo says

San Francisco - Mr Elon Musk has lost a legal fight over unpaid severance to a former Twitter employee who was laid off when the billionaire took over the social media platform in 2022, according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg News.

The resolution of the dispute, which was handled through arbitration, comes almost two years after Mr Musk acquired Twitter for US$44 billion (S$56.8 billion) and promptly fired more than half of the staff. 

The move sparked more than 2,000 complaints from former employees who claimed they were short-changed on pay.

The victory in Sept 23’s case could set a precedent for the thousands of fired former employees who have filed similar arbitration grievances. 

“The arbitrator awarded the full severance package to our client,” lawyer Shannon Liss-Riordan said in the memo on Sept 23, which was obtained from two former Twitter employees who declined to be identified. “We are excited about this development and hope it foreshadows more good news to come.”

Ms Liss-Riordan declined to comment or to disclose the arbitrator’s written ruling following her client’s closed-door proceeding with a private judge.

X did not respond to a request for comment.

In July, Mr Musk and X – the name the Tesla co-founder chose to rebrand Twitter – defeated a lawsuit alleging that at least US$500 million in severance pay was owed to about 6,000 laid-off employees under provisions of the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

In the memo, Ms Liss-Riordan said that 15 cases have had arbitration hearings and she expects more rulings to come out in the next couple of months.

“It is our hope that if more rulings come down our way, Twitter/X will be willing to come to the table and negotiate a settlement for everyone,” she wrote. BLOOMBERG