Elon Musk’s X Settles Lawsuits from Former Employees
Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has decided to address thousands of lawsuits filed by ex-employees who were laid off during the 2022 acquisition of the platform. These former workers are seeking a claimed $500 million in retirement payments following significant staff reductions.
According to a report, X has come to an agreement to settle with many of those who claimed they had left after rejecting it during Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. When Musk took control of Twitter in 2022, he drastically cut the workforce from approximately 7,500 to under 2,000. This led to a class action lawsuit in 2023, which alleged that Musk owed about $500 million in retirement benefits as stipulated in his acquisition agreement.
Recent legal filings with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals indicate that X is prepared to settle this class action, although the specifics of the settlement amount remain confidential. Moreover, the company has also reached a separate agreement with over 2,000 former employees who were seeking retirement benefits through arbitration, with the details communicated to those workers recently. While the exact terms of the arbitration settlement are not publicly disclosed, reports suggest it may cover nearly all retirement benefits owed, including interest.
However, Musk’s ongoing legal issues with former senior Twitter executives—who claim more than $128 million in retirement benefits—persist. Reports have previously highlighted this executive lawsuit.
The lawsuit contends that Musk deliberately created a “manufactured cause” for terminating these executives without compensation. It cites a biography that claims Musk outlined his strategy to fabricate reasons for firings to avoid paying retirement benefits, even asserting he would “hunt” executives until their demise.
The plaintiffs argue that they were unjustly dismissed and that Musk misrepresented their termination letters, alleging “significant negligence” and “willful misconduct.” They claim these tactics were essentially a means to avoid paying deserved retirement benefits.
