The city of San Francisco has warned it could crack down on Elon Musk’s latest scheme to save his $44 billion investment in Twitter from a possible declaration of bankruptcy.
On Tuesday, the serial entrepreneur who ran five different businesses confirmed a report in Forbes that he brought beds to the social media company’s headquarters, after city officials announced they planned to launch an inspection of the premises.
Musk claimed he was helping staff recover, before seemingly sidetracking with an attempt to reframe the discussion around the tech mecca’s failure to deal with an ongoing narcotics crisis.
“So the city of SF is attacking companies providing beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl,” he posted, before questioning his agenda. mayor. “Where are your priorities, London Breed?”
Musk went to great lengths to save the loss-making company he took on $13 billion in debt to fund the deal.
Varying estimates suggest he eliminated between two-thirds and three-quarters of the company’s workforce, which once numbered 7,500, and demanded that the remaining employees engage in ‘extremely hard’ work to keep it from sinking.
In an email to staff Last month, the outspoken opponent of remote work said that anyone who chooses to stick it out and help build Twitter 2.0 needs to be prepared for what lies ahead: “It will mean working long hours at high intensity. Only outstanding performance will constitute a passing grade.
Proponents argued that bringing proper beds to the office was just a small leap from other Silicon Valley tech companies that had beanbags for the occasional nap, or equated it to hospital staff. who needed to sleep for long shifts.
#SleepWhereYouWork
While Twitter staff aren’t faced with saving lives in an emergency, adding sleeping quarters would help prevent Twitter staff from going rough.
Evan Jones, head of product for Spaces, posted a photo of his boss, director of product management Esther Crawford, sleeping on the floor just days after the Musk takeover.
“I love my family and am grateful that they understand that there are times when I have to overwork myself to grind and push in order to deliver,” she then explained after being criticized for apparently glorifying the practice by posting the hashtag #SleepWhereYouWork.
Hygiene concerns aside, the risk is that it will become an expected part of everyday Twitter life, with employees competing to prove who is willing to sacrifice the most to save Musk’s considerable personal investment.
Forbes quoted a staff member as saying, “This is yet another unspoken sign of disrespect. There is no discussion. Just like, the beds appeared.
Regardless, San Francisco doesn’t seem convinced that adding beds to offices isn’t a violation of building code regulations. A spokesperson told Bay Area news station KQED that city officials are preparing a site inspection.
Our new weekly newsletter Impact Report will examine how ESG news and trends are shaping the roles and responsibilities of today’s leaders, and how they can better meet these challenges. Subscribe here.
