Some of Twitter’s remaining employees have reportedly begun bringing their own toilet paper to the office as Elon Musk implements sweeping cost-cutting measures at the company.
Musk’s scramble to save money included a move this month to abruptly fire janitors who worked at the company’s San Francisco headquarters. The cuts came after the janitors had gone on strike for more pay.
The absence of janitors has “left the office in disarray,” with bathrooms that have “grown dirty” and persistent smells of “leftover takeout food and body odor,” the New York Times reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The report said some employees are bringing in their own toilet paper because no janitors are on hand to replace supplies. Musk has purportedly packed Twitter employees onto two floors while shutting down four others.
Other budget-conscious moves included a decision by Musk to shut down one of Twitter’s data centers in Sacramento, Calif., despite reported concerns among some employees that it could hurt the site’s performance.
On Christmas Eve, Musk tweeted that Twitter was still working “even after I disconnected one of the more sensitive server racks.” The site experienced a widespread outage on Thursday, though its exact cause remains unclear.
The report said Twitter has missed rent payments on its San Francisco offices and stopped paying rent entirely at its building in Seattle, where it now faces evictions. The company also axed cleaners and some security staff at one of its buildings in New York.
Additionally, the Musk-led company has reportedly missed or delayed payments to some vendors, including account firm KPMG and benefits provider Carrot. Twitter’s new leaders are said to be aiming to renegotiate some of the agreements to lower costs.
According to the New York Times, Musk has turned off some Twitter employees with an “erratic and hands-on style” of leadership. The Twitter CEO has directed his subordinates to identify employees responsible for leaking details about the company’s operations to the press.
In all, Musk is reportedly attempting to shave $500 million in nonlabor expenses from Twitter’s budget, according to the outlet.
The billionaire has been open about Twitter’s financial issues since he bought the company for $44 billion in late October. Earlier this month, Musk argued his various cuts were necessary to avoid a $3 billion budgetary shortfall.
“That is why I spent the last five weeks cutting costs like crazy,” Musk said during a Twitter Spaces event last week. “This company is like, basically, you are in a plane that is headed toward the ground at high speed with the engines on fire and the controls don’t work.”
The Post has reached out to Twitter for comment. The company has cut its entire communications team.
