Elon Musk: Twitter mums slam billionaire for reducing parental leave

The San Francisco-based social media platform altered its previous policy to “whatever is required by law in the region where the employees work, along with a ‘top up’ of two weeks of leave,” wrote New York Times reporter Kate Conger, who cited the internal memo.

In California, state law allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of “unpaid, job-protected” leave, New York Post reports.

That gives new mums working at Twitter’s headquarters little time to recover, unless they want to risk their job and take unpaid leave.

Reaction online was scathing.

“Two weeks! What do they expect 2 weeks and the child will be going to the bathroom on his own.?!..as an ex tweep and as a parent I cannot relate to this,” one Twitter user wrote.

“As a former Twitter employee that oversaw US LOA (leave of absence) and rolled out the 20 week policy in 2016, this is DEPRESSING,” tweeted Tina Forrest.

“I am so sorry to hear of the amazing policies/programs that are being dismantled.”

Another Twitter user blasted Musk as “misogynistic and anti-worker.”

One current Twitter employee took to the social media platform Blind to rail against Musk, writing sarcastically: “Still love the smartest man on the planet?”

Other Twitter users blasted Musk for his previous statements about the urgency of increasing the global birthrate.

The New York Post has sought comment from Twitter.

Tech firms vying for top talent have historically been among the most generous private sector companies in offering parental leave to their employees that go above and beyond those required by law.

Google’s parental leave policy allows for fathers to take up to 16 weeks while mothers can get paid while bonding with their newborn for 24 weeks.

Brooklyn-based online marketplace Etsy offers its employees a generous leave policy of 26 weeks fully paid.

Musk, one of the world’s richest tycoons by virtue of his stake in electric car maker Tesla, bought Twitter in a highly leveraged deal worth $44 billion last fall.

Since taking over, Musk has instituted radical changes, including laying off more than 70 per cent of the company’s workforce — which numbered 7500 before the acquisition last year and which has now been whittled down to some 2000 workers.

The Twitter boss has also made several cost-cutting moves including revoking perks and privileges such as allowances for things like “wellness,” home internet and Wi-Fi costs, companywide activities known as “Camp Twitter,” and daycare costs.

Twitter has also slashed mobile phone allowances as well as money meant to cover work-related travel expenses.

Musk’s cash-strapped company has been looking for ways to boost revenue after advertisers fled the site in the weeks and months following the mogul’s acquisition of the company.

The MTA announced on Thursday that it will no longer provide real-time service alerts on Twitter since the platform began charging an exorbitant price for the integral feature that allows such posts.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission