Former Twitter staff in Africa accuse social media giant of reneging on promise of paying them a severance package after laying them off

Erstwhile staff of Twitter in Africa who were laid off after billionaire Elon Musk bought the platform, have alleged that they are yet to get their severance package. 

Billionaire Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October 2022 and began a series of layoffs which affected thousands of workers. In November, the company laid off almost all of its staff in Ghana, its only African location, days after its physical office opened following a year of remote working.

CNN reported that the terminated workers from Twitter’s office in Accra, Ghana, have still not received a severance pay despite being laid off seven months ago. It was gathered that the former employees accepted Twitter’s offer to pay them three months’ worth of severance, the cost of repatriating foreign staff and legal expenses incurred during negotiations with the company, but they have not received the money or any further communication.

They also revealed that they agreed to the severance package without benefits, even though it was less than what colleagues elsewhere received.

Speaking to the news channel, a former Twitter Africa employee, said: “They literally ghosted us. Although Twitter has eventually settled former staff in other locations, Africa staff have still been left in the lurch despite us eventually agreeing to specific negotiated terms.”

“Twitter was non-responsive until we agreed to the three months because we were all so stressed and exhausted and tired of the uncertainty, reluctant to take on the extra burdens of a court case so we felt we had no choice but to settle,” another former employee told CNN.

Carla Olympio, an attorney representing the former employees, said the last communication from Twitter or its lawyers was in May, shortly after settlement was agreed.

A spokesperson for Ghana’s Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations told CNN it is investigating the claims.