When Elon Musk took over as the head of Twitter, he cut the workforce by nearly 70 per cent. Many employees were let go without clear justification, but one decided to challenge Musk’s decision in court. As a result, Twitter has now been ordered to pay him a substantial fine for unfair dismissal.Twitter has been ordered to pay over €550,000, which is around Rs 5 crores, to Gary Rooney, a former senior employee at its European headquarters in Ireland, following a ruling that he was unfairly dismissed. This case arises from Rooney’s departure after Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media platform.

Musk pushed for Twitter 2.0 when he took over the company in October 2022. Musk emailed all employees, outlining a new, demanding work environment he referred to as “Twitter 2.0.” He urged employees to commit to working long hours with high intensity, asking them to click “yes” on a link in the email if they agreed to the new terms. Those who did not respond were informed that they would be considered to have resigned and would receive three months’ severance pay.

Rooney, who had been with Twitter since 2013 and held the position of director of “source-to-pay” in Dublin, did not click “yes” on the link. Three days later, on November 19, 2022, he received an email from Twitter stating that his resignation had been acknowledged and that his access to the company’s systems had been deactivated. Rooney contested this, insisting that he had never intended to resign and had not accepted any separation offer. He expressed his shock at the situation in a communication to the company a week later.

Rooney’s case was brought before Ireland’s Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), where he presented evidence during a five-day hearing. He explained that he had been initially wary of Musk’s email, fearing it might be spam or malware. Rooney also voiced his dissatisfaction with the direction Twitter was heading under Musk’s leadership, indicating that the new environment was not suitable for him.

The WRC ruled in Rooney’s favor, stating that the 24-hour notice given to employees to make such a significant decision was unreasonable. The fine of €550,131, the largest of its kind in Ireland, compensates Rooney for his lost earnings from January 2023 to May 2024, as well as estimated future losses. Rooney’s solicitor emphasized that the ruling sends a strong message that large companies, including those led by influential figures like Musk, cannot treat employees unfairly in Ireland. Twitter, when approached for comment, responded with, “Busy now, please check back later.”

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