"They literally ghosted us," one former Twitter Africa employee said
Former staff of Twitter Africe who were fired claim that the company "ghosted" them. The former workers said that they have not received their promised severance pay, CNN reported on Monday.
Billionaire Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October 2022 and began a series of layoffs which affected thousands of workers. In November, the company laid off almost all of its staff in Ghana, its only African location, days after its physical office opened following a year of remote working, the media outlet reported.
Terminated workers from Twitter's office in Accra, Ghana, have still not received severance pay despite being laid off seven months ago. According to CNN, the former employees accepted Twitter's offer to pay them three months' worth of severance, the cost of repatriating foreign staff and legal expenses incurred during negotiations with the company, but they have not received the money or any further communication.
"They literally ghosted us," one former Twitter Africa employee told CNN.
"Although Twitter has eventually settled former staff in other locations, Africa staff have still been left in the lurch despite us eventually agreeing to specific negotiated terms."
Adding that they agreed to the severance package without benefits, even though it was less than what colleagues elsewhere received.
"Twitter was non-responsive until we agreed to the three months because we were all so stressed and exhausted and tired of the uncertainty, reluctant to take on the extra burdens of a court case so we felt we had no choice but to settle," another former employee told CNN, who spoke anonymously due to having signed non-disclosure agreements.
Carla Olympio, an attorney representing the former employees, told CNN that the last communication from Twitter was in May, shortly after the settlement was agreed.
A spokesperson for Ghana's Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations told CNN it is investigating the claims.