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The coming changes to Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover of Twitter are happening at a breakneck speed similar to Tesla, according to the latest reports.
Twitter’s $8 verification service part of Twitter Blue is said to launch as early as next week, reports Bloomberg. Also coming is the edit button for all users, as this feature is currently available only for paid Twitter Blue customers.
According to the Platformer, annual $99 USD Twitter Blue pricing is being considered by the social network. It also corroborates news of the edit feature being given to all.
In another Bloomberg report, Elon Musk is said to cut 50% of Twitter’s workforce as soon as Friday. That means 3,700 jobs will be cut in an effort to lower costs for the company. Unnamed sources say employees will be informed on Friday of the job cuts, while it’s said Musk is also reversing Twitter’s work-from-home policy, albeit some exceptions may be made.
Sources say Twitter employees being laid off will be offered 60 days worth of severance.
Other 50% staff cuts are also targeting senior staff on product teams, said a source this week. These job cuts were determined based on worker contributions to Twitter’s source code during their tenure at the company. These job reviews were handled by engineers and also higher-level Tesla staff brought in to assist, says one source.
Originally, media reports leaked Musk was ready to cut 75% of jobs, which he later denied.
The paid cost to have a verification badge and account on Twitter is part of Musk’s plan to make spam and bot accounts pay and be eliminated. Scammers leveraging verified accounts—either stolen or acquired through the dark web—usually are able to con people as many believe they are legitimate actors. Making them pay puts a cost on a bot network and will allow them to be “destroyed” according to Musk.
Musk recently changed his Twitter bio to “Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator”, with the location set to “hell”, as the “Chief Twit” hears feedback from users upset about the forthcoming changes.
