Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey has spoken out about the ongoing layoffs since billionaire Elon Musk bought the company. Dorsey apologised to his former staff for growing Twitter "too quickly".
"Folks at Twitter past and present are strong and resilient. They will always find a way no matter how difficult the moment. I realize many are angry with me. I own the responsibility for why everyone is in this situation: I grew the company size too quickly. I apologize for that,” he tweeted.
"I am grateful for, and love, everyone who has ever worked on Twitter. I don&039;t expect that to be mutual in this moment...or ever...and I understand,” he added.
Media reports indicated that Dorsey’s statement appeared to endorse the need for dismissals at the firm. The 45-year-old has been supportive of Musk's takeover.
Back in April when the billionaire first began his purchase of Twitter, Dorsey said the 51-year-old was the "singular solution I trust" and that the South African's takeover was "the right path...I believe it with all my heart", reports BBC.
Half of Twitter's staff are being fired, a week after Elon Musk bought it in a $44bn deal. Musk said he had no choice but to slash the company's workforce as the firm is losing more than $4m a day.
As of June 30, 2013, shortly before the social media company went public, Twitter had approximately 2,000 employees, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. By the end of last year, the company reported more than 7,500 full-time employees.
Dorsey created Twitter in 2006 along with Evan Williams, Biz Stone, and Noah Glass. The cuts have come across Twitter's 7,500-strong workforce, and there are fears it could damage the firm's content moderation efforts.
Despite the dismissals, Musk has said the firm's policies remain "absolutely unchanged".
"Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately, there is no choice when the company is losing over [$4 million a day],” Musk tweeted on Friday. "Everyone exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required.”
A host of major brands have halted advertising spending with Twitter in recent days, including Volkswagen, General Motors and Pfizer, according to BBC.
Twitter’s reduction in force extended beyond California, according to CNBC. A loss of $4 million per day at the company would represent an annual loss of ,around $1.5 billion.