Mysterious layoffs: Twitter employee asks if he's fired, Musk laughs and vanishes

In a series of tweets that quickly went viral, a former Twitter employee accused the social media giant of laying him off without even telling him that he has been fired. He asked Elon Musk to clarify. What ensued was an amusing tweet exchange with the tech billionaire.

The employee, whose Twitter handle is 'iamharaldur', claims he had received no straight answers regarding his employment status for nine straight days. Frustrated, he turned to Musk for answers. He even asked the Twitterati to help him get traction so that Musk responds quickly. 

To the employee's surprise, Musk responded to his tweet, asking him what he had been working on. When the employee told him, Musk laughed, which the employee chalked up to his own sense of humor.

Dear @elonmusk 👋

9 days ago the access to my work computer was cut, along with about 200 other Twitter employees.

However your head of HR is not able to confirm if I am an employee or not. You've not answered my emails.

Maybe if enough people retweet you'll answer me here?

— Halli (@iamharaldur) March 6, 2023

However, things quickly took a turn when Twitter's head of HR emailed the employee, informing him that he was no longer employed. The employee seemed to take it in stride, acknowledging that companies have the right to lay off workers. However, he raised concerns about whether he would receive payment as outlined in his contract.

Also read: Ex-Twitter employee laid off weeks before maternity leave; describes experience of Elon Musk's takeover

This is where Musk's involvement becomes even more intriguing. The former Twitter employee questioned whether Musk, one of the wealthiest people in the world, would intervene to ensure he received the compensation owed to him.

Musk and Twitter are already facing the music when it comes to fired employees. Around 1,500 former employees have band together to file class action lawsuits against Musk and Twitter. Many employees have claimed that their contract from before Musk's takeover hasn't followed through.