• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Elon Musk gives Twitter employees details on ‘very significant’ stock awards after relentless layoffs, cost-cutting: Report

Steve Mollman
By
Steve Mollman
Steve Mollman
Contributors Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
Steve Mollman
By
Steve Mollman
Steve Mollman
Contributors Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 25, 2023, 6:34 PM ET
Twitter CEO Elon Musk
Twitter CEO Elon Musk is offering employees new equity grants.Marlena Sloss—Bloomberg/Getty Images

Twitter employees might have left the office Friday feeling particularly demoralized. Last month, after yet another round of layoffs, CEO Elon Musk indicated he’d share information about “very significant stock and other compensation awards, based on performance” on March 24. 

Employees received no such information by the end of the workday. “People are not happy, to say the least,” tweeted Platformer journalist Zoë Schiffer, who tracks the company closely. 

But late last night, Musk apparently sent an email to employees with some of the much-anticipated details. Schiffer and the Wall Street Journal reported they obtained the message. 

Fortune reached out to Twitter for comments but received no immediate reply, at least not from any humans. (The company no longer has a media communications team.)

In the email, Musk acknowledged the radical changes at Twitter since his $44 billion takeover in October, but said they were needed because the company had been close to running out of money, according to Schiffer. Now, financial incentives for workers should align with the company, which will do periodic liquidity events, he reportedly wrote.

Twitter is offering employees new equity grants that will start to vest after six months, according to the Journal, and in about a year it will offer a liquidity event in which they can cash out some of that equity.

The new grants will vest over four years, according to the Journal, and will be separate from legacy equity converted to cash when Musk took over.

The grants reflect a roughly $20 billion valuation, about 55% below the price Musk paid for the company, according to The Information.

Musk took Twitter private after buying it. In its last full year as a public firm, it had more than 7,500 employees and spent nearly $630 million on stock-based compensation, according to the Journal. As of December, the company had about 2,000 workers, following one round of layoffs after another and drastic cost-cutting measures. 

Earlier this week, Musk sent employees an email at 2:30 a.m. saying the “office is not optional,” complaining about the San Francisco office being half empty. Musk has been a fierce critic of remote work, suggesting remote employees only “pretend to work.”

Subscribe to Well Adjusted, our newsletter full of simple strategies to work smarter and live better, from the Fortune Well team. Sign up today.
About the Author
Steve Mollman
By Steve MollmanContributors Editor
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Steve Mollman is a contributors editor at Fortune.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

After nearly a year of delays, Trump Mobile’s CEO says the gold-plated Trump phone will begin shipping to buyers this week
North AmericaDonald Trump
After nearly a year of delays, Trump Mobile’s CEO says the gold-plated Trump phone will begin shipping to buyers this week
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMay 13, 2026
1 hour ago
Elon Musk sits with his fists together, looking up.
AIElon Musk
‘Maybe me too’: Elon Musk accepts some of the blame for Claude learning to blackmail users from ‘evil’ online AI stories
By Sasha RogelbergMay 13, 2026
2 hours ago
How HubSpot got all engineers to use AI without any mandates
NewslettersCIO Intelligence
How HubSpot got all engineers to use AI without any mandates
By John KellMay 13, 2026
3 hours ago
Goldman sees an AI bottleneck that can’t be vide-coded away. Ford’s CEO warns it’s already a ‘full-blown’ crisis
EnergyData centers
Goldman sees an AI bottleneck that can’t be vide-coded away. Ford’s CEO warns it’s already a ‘full-blown’ crisis
By Nick LichtenbergMay 13, 2026
3 hours ago
“I had to turn down President Obama” 
EuropePublicis Groupe
“I had to turn down President Obama” 
By Kamal AhmedMay 13, 2026
4 hours ago
lloyd
AIAI agents
Lloyd Blankfein just put his finger on why even Goldman Sachs doesn’t trust AI agents
By Nick LichtenbergMay 13, 2026
4 hours ago

Most Popular

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
23 hours ago
Nearly 50,000 Lake Tahoe residents have to find a new power source after their energy source looks to redirect lines to data centers
Travel & Leisure
Nearly 50,000 Lake Tahoe residents have to find a new power source after their energy source looks to redirect lines to data centers
By Catherina GioinoMay 12, 2026
1 day ago
It’s not just Canadian tourists snubbing U.S. cities. Business leaders are cancelling more trips to America as geopolitical tensions continue
North America
It’s not just Canadian tourists snubbing U.S. cities. Business leaders are cancelling more trips to America as geopolitical tensions continue
By Sasha RogelbergMay 12, 2026
24 hours ago
Anthropic’s Daniela Amodei says entrepreneurs should go on vacation to road test potential cofounders—if they’re a drain, they’re ‘the wrong choice’
Success
Anthropic’s Daniela Amodei says entrepreneurs should go on vacation to road test potential cofounders—if they’re a drain, they’re ‘the wrong choice’
By Emma BurleighMay 12, 2026
1 day ago
Forget U.S. debt, China's total borrowing is in 'a league of its own'—much worse and deteriorating faster, analyst says
Economy
Forget U.S. debt, China's total borrowing is in 'a league of its own'—much worse and deteriorating faster, analyst says
By Jason MaMay 11, 2026
2 days ago
U.S. hotels are calling the World Cup a 'non-event' and 80% warn bookings are falling short of expectations, report finds
North America
U.S. hotels are calling the World Cup a 'non-event' and 80% warn bookings are falling short of expectations, report finds
By Sasha RogelbergMay 12, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.