Twitter Cuts Half of Public Policy Team as Ongoing Layoffs Reach 75%
Twitter continues its massive reduction in workforce by slashing half of its remaining public policy staff and several infrastructure engineers. These cuts follow the recent dissolution of the Trust and Safety Council, raising further concerns about the platform's content moderation capabilities.
Twitter continues to reduce its workforce as the company cuts half of its remaining public policy team and several infrastructure engineers. A former public policy employee confirms the latest round of layoffs, which occur via email just a few months after Elon Musk takes ownership of the platform. Across the entire company, an estimated 75% of staff members either leave voluntarily or face termination since the October acquisition.
These recent job cuts directly follow the sudden dissolution of Twitter's Trust and Safety Council, a group of about 100 researchers and activists formed in 2016. The laid-off public policy employee previously manages this council, which advises the platform on critical issues like child sexual abuse material (CSAM) removal, suicide prevention, and online safety. Twitter shuts down the advisory group just days after three key members resign and publish an open letter stating that user safety declines under Musk's leadership.
The elimination of the safety council creates a stark contrast with Musk's public statements regarding platform security. Although Musk publicly declares CSAM removal as "Priority #1," he takes no concrete action to establish new systems to replace the dissolved council. Furthermore, he breaks a recent promise to civil rights leaders by reinstating previously banned users without implementing a transparent review process.