Elon Musk is on the verge of shutting down Twitter operations in Africa as he lays off all but 1 of its Ghanaian staff

• Elon Musk has laid off nearly all its staff members in Ghana. 
• This move follows a series of layoffs, as Elon plans to cut Twitter’s 7000 staff members to 3500.
• Ghanaian Twitter employees have till 4th of December to evacuate the company’s premises. 

Barely a week after taking over Twitter, the business magnate and Tesla CEO seems to be on the cusp of shutting down Twitter operations in Africa.

The social media giant under the direction of Elon Musk has fired nearly all its staff in Ghana. According to a BBC source, all but one member out of the twenty person team have been laid off.

The warning signs were imminent as Ghanaian Twitter employees were warned to brace themselves for the possible wave of dismissals. Read the story here.

“The company is re-organizing its operations as a result of a need to reduce costs.” Read the email to staff from Fidelma Callaghan, Director People Service.

Termination emails were sent to the Ghana employees personal accounts having been denied access to their work.

This move is trailing a series of similar events, following Elon’s acquisition of Twitter. Since becoming the company’s primary stakeholder, Elon Musk has promised to cut down on costs, and one way he is doing so is laying off employees.

Prior to Elon’s takeover, Twitter had around 7000 staff members under its employ. Elon’s plan is to cut this number to at least half. His first move as CEO of Twitter was laying off some top executive members, since then he has been on a firing spree, cutting down entire markets to realize his idea.

Recently, it was reported that he laid off about 90% of Twitter staff in India. The country had about 200 Twitter employees which was cut down to 12 over the weekend. Read the story here.

The termination of employment notice warned staff not to “contact or deal with any customers, clients, authorities, banks, suppliers or other employees of the company and are required to inform the company if contacted”.

It goes without saying that the affected employees are outraged, and as one Ghana staff put it, the move was very insulting.

The Ghanaian staff were informed that their last day at work will be on the 4th December, and were simultaneously warned against seeking any other employment before the date.

You must ensure that the company knows where you will be and how you can be contacted during each working day to ensure your availability during the transition of responsibilities.” The notice reads.

Employment law in Ghana requires at least three months' notice of termination. It also demands redundancy pay which is to be negotiated between the organization, and the employee or trade union.

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