Elon Musk has denied reports that he is laying off Twitter workers to avoid severance payouts.
Elon Musk has denied claims that he is trying to avoid paying out for fired Twitter employees
The world's richest man completed his $44 billion purchase of the social media platform but has denied claims that he is quickly firing employees to dodge making special payouts as part of their compensation deal.
In a response to a Twitter user asking about the report in the New York Times newspaper, Musk tweeted: "This is false."
Upon the completion of his Twitter takeover, Musk dismissed chief executive Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde.
The billionaire had accused the trio of misleading him and other Twitter investors about the number of fake accounts on the platform.
The executives stood to receive separation payouts that total around $122 million.
Musk is said to have ordered further job cuts over the weekend with some departments set to be trimmed more than others.
The cuts will take place before Tuesday (01.11.22) - when employees were scheduled to receive stock grants as part of their severance pay.
Musk's Twitter takeover has been praised by former US President Donald Trump amid speculation that he could be allowed to return to the platform.
Trump was banned from the site following the attack on the US Capitol last year but says he is "very happy that Twitter is back in sane hands".
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