New Delhi: Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal explained why he chose to fire two top executives amid high voltage drama happening ever since Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition deal. In a series of tweets, Parag Agrawal said “hard decisions” were needed to be made as part of his job while pointing out that “expect more change for the better”.Also Read – Elon Musk Says $44 Billion Twitter Deal Put On Hold Due To Pending Details On Spam, Fake Accounts
“So what can you expect from me going forward? I’m still focused on doing the job, and that includes making hard decisions as needed. I will continue to embrace the deep complexities of our service and our business. And you can expect more change for the better,” Parag Agrawal tweeted.
Kayvon Beykpour and Bruce Falck – the two Twitter top executives were fired on Saturday by Parag Agrawal. Twitter confirmed both departures and said the company is pausing most hiring and except for business critical roles. In addition, it said in a statement, “we are pulling back on non-labor costs to ensure we are being responsible and efficient.” Kayvon Beykpour, Twitter general manager who worked in the company for over seven years, said CEO Parag Agrawal “asked me to leave after letting me know that he wants to take the team in a different direction”
Bruce Falck, Twitter’s revenue and product lead, according to a tweet that has since been deleted. His Twitter bio now says unemployed”.
Reacting to this, Parag Agrawal said: “We announced changes to our leadership team and operations yesterday. Changes impacting people are always hard. And some have been asking why a “lame-duck” CEO would make these changes if we are getting acquired anyway. The short answer is very simple.”
What Parag Agrawal said after Elon Musk puts Twitter deal on hold
CEO Parag Agrawal said that he expects the deal to close, but “we need to be prepared for all scenarios”. The statement by the CEO comes hours after Elon Musk, in a series of tweets, wrote that the Twitter buyout is temporarily on hold, where he also later mentioned that he was “still committed to the acquisition”.
“While I expect the deal to close, we need to be prepared for all scenarios and always do what’s right for Twitter. I am accountable for leading and operating Twitter, and our job is to build a stronger Twitter every day,” Parag Agrawal said.
“No one at Twitter is working just to keep the lights on. We take pride in our work. Regardless of the company’s future ownership, we’re here improving Twitter as a product and business for customers, partners, shareholders, and all of you.”
Parag Agrawal also pointed out that he won’t use the Elon Musk Twitter deal as “an excuse to avoid making important decisions for the health of the company”.
“People have also asked: why manage costs now vs after close? Our industry is in a very challenging macro environment – right now. I won’t use the deal as an excuse to avoid making important decisions for the health of the company, nor will any leader at Twitter,” Parag Agrawal said.
“I will also try to bring more transparency to the work that we do. You won’t see tweets from me on the ‘topic of the day’ or the loudest sound bite, but rather on the ongoing, continuous, and challenging work our teams are doing to improve the public conversation on Twitter.”
