Twitter is under investigation by City of San Francisco officials following a complaint that the company converted rooms at its headquarters into dormitories, an investigation that drew scorn from Elon Musk.
As of Monday, the office has “modest rooms with unmade mattresses, drab curtains and giant telepresence monitors in conference rooms” with four to eight beds per floor, employees told Forbes. The changes appear to be part of Musk’s plan for “Twitter hardcore” in which he demanded workers put in “long, high-intensity hours” after laying off nearly half of the company’s workforce.
But the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the company did not apply for any permits to use parts of the building for residential purposes.
The San Francisco Building Inspection Department confirmed to several media outlets that it was investigating the matter after receiving a complaint and that it planned to inspect the company’s headquarters.
NEW: The BBC has obtained photos of interiors from Twitter – of rooms that have been turned into bedrooms – for staff to sleep in.
The City of San Francisco is investigating because it is a commercial building. pic.twitter.com/Y4vKxZXQhB
—James Clayton (@JamesClayton5) December 7, 2022
“We need to make sure the building is used as intended,” department spokesman Patrick Hannan told The Washington Post. “There are different building code requirements for residential buildings, including those used for short-term stays. These codes ensure that people use the spaces safely.
The ministry has contacted building officials to conduct an inspection and if the head office is no longer building code compliant, it will issue a Notice of Violation. The city treats all property complaints and landlords equally, Hannan said.
“No one is above the law,” Hannan said.
Musk criticized the investigation. “So the city of SF is attacking companies that provide beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl. Where are your priorities @LondonBreed!?” he said on Twitter with a link to an article detailing the story of a dad who says his baby overdosed on fentanyl after being exposed to the drug at a city playground .
No city or police official has confirmed whether or not the child’s emergency resulted from exposure to fentanyl.
Some workers have already said they slept at the company’s headquarters. Twitter’s Director of Product Management Esther Crawford shared a photo last month of herself sleeping at the office wearing an eye mask and sleeping bag. “When your team is working around the clock to meet deadlines, sometimes you #SleepWhereYouWork“, wrote Crawford on Twitter.
Employees told Forbes that no announcements were made about the new beds, but they believed they were there so workers could stay in the office overnight.
“It’s not pretty,” they said. “This is yet another unspoken sign of disrespect. There is no discussion. Just like, the beds appeared.
