Ex-Twitter Ghana employee having ‘anxiety attacks’

Some of Twitter’s former employees in Africa have told the BBC that they are tired of the drawn-out negotiations over their severance pay.

On Monday we reported that the social media company had been silent since May on all negotiations with the ex-employees’ lawyers following the massive lay-offs in November last year.

Now some of those affected have been speaking to the BBC on the condition of anonymity.

“Some of the decisions made during the negotiations [with Twitter] including the three months’ severance package wasn’t our desire but people want to get over this phase,” one ex-employee said.

For many of the former staff of Twitter’s office in Africa, the silence, along with the attitude of the organisation towards them and their legal representatives, has caused much distress. One person said it had led to “anxiety attacks”.

Some had moved their families from other countries to begin a new life in Ghana as a result of the new job.

“I know I’m entitled to my severance and other benefits, but I’m not waiting on it to move on with my life,” another former employee said.

Twitter opened its only Africa office in Ghana last November and had about a dozen employees but they were then laid off as part of a global staff cull introduced by Elon Musk when he bought the company.

The BBC’s email requesting comment from the company’s press office got an automated response of a poop emoji.