https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elon-musk-twitter-wall-street-sees-a-challenge-ahead/ [www cbsnews com]

Elon #Musk facing challenging economic environment as he takes over #Twitter, also faces skittish advertisers who've seen all the things he posted.

That's probably one reason for the job cuts he's making. Aside from disagreements about the company's direction (e.g., the most likely reason for firing the executive team), he's expected to cut headcount by 30% or more; with some claiming up to 75%.

I know they're probably considered overstaffed (as are all large companies and government agencies), but I sincerely question his ability to make it profitable if he cuts 50% or more of the staff over the first year. (He could do the "hire younger people for less money and have the existing staff train their replacements" thing. I personally think that is vile, but he wouldn't be the first company acquirer to do this.)

I'm not on the inside, but it seems to me that once you pass 20% staff reduction, less people working means less work gets done. Now, sometimes, the work that no longer gets done was not needed anyway, but it doesn't sound like he's got a lot of runway to figure things out before he needs to be flying. His funders are going to start expecting to start receiving payments within months.

Why is it interesting to me? I still have a Twitter account. I'm trying to log in once per month, so I can gradually reacquaint myself with any of my contacts that are still there. In reality, it is probably closer to three times per year. If it weren't for Twitter (and a couple of once similar sites: Pownce, Jaiku, Identi.ca), I would not be here.