Elon Musk has reached a settlement regarding a $128 million lawsuit initiated by four former high-ranking executives at Twitter, now known as X, concerning unpaid severance following his acquisition of the company. The executives, including former CEO Parag Agrawal, claimed they were dismissed “without reason” after Musk took control in 2022, and that they did not receive the severance payments entitled to them.
According to a court filing from the plaintiffs’ attorneys, the settlement is contingent on certain conditions being fulfilled in the near future; however, the specific details of the agreement have not been publicly revealed. This lawsuit, filed last year, is one of multiple legal challenges related to unpaid severance for individuals laid off after Musk’s takeover.
Responses from attorneys representing the former Twitter executives, as well as those for Musk and X, have not been made available regarding the settlement. The plaintiffs include Agrawal, former CFO Ned Segal, former Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde, and former General Counsel Sean Edgett. They argue that they are due one year’s salary and stock awards as provided by an existing severance plan. The suit also alleges that Musk’s actions reflect a broader trend of failing to compensate former employees appropriately.
In a separate development, Musk and X previously settled another lawsuit from approximately 6,000 former Twitter employees, who claimed they were owed $500 million in severance payments. Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, having initially attempted to retract his offer. After finalizing the acquisition, he made significant cuts to the company’s workforce, including the termination of the four executives in question. The former officials assert that Musk’s motivation stemmed from frustration over the forced completion of the purchase and that he wrongfully alleged misconduct to justify their terminations.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce326pyzlr4o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss