Twitter tells worried employees their vested shares will be paid in coming days
- Since Elon Musk closed his purchase of Twitter on Oct. 28, employees worried they would be fired or laid off before their stock options vested in early November.
- However, according to internal communications viewed by CNBC, managers told Twitter employees they will be paid for the newly vested shares starting Nov. 4.
- Musk and Tesla have been sued repeatedly over employees’ claims that they were fired just before their shares vested, depriving them of compensation.
After Elon Musk closed his $44 billion purchase of Twitter last week, employees at the company braced for job cuts. Some told CNBC they were worried about losing their equity compensation if Musk sent them packing before their shares vested the first week of November.
Musk and Tesla have been sued repeatedly over employees’ claims that they were fired just before their shares vested, depriving them of compensation.
However, it appears that the current tranche of stock-based compensation for many Twitter employees, who were there before Musk took over, will get paid out after all.
According to employees at the company and internal communications viewed by CNBC, newly vesting shares are expected to be paid in the first half of November, starting as early as Nov. 4. Employees said they were reassured by managers that the company’s payroll department was working on processing their vested stock.
Tech companies are known for paying a high percentage of their compensation through stock awards, and Twitter has been notably reliant on equity payouts. In the first six months of 2022, Twitter recorded a stock-based compensation expense of $459.5 million, up from $289.1 million during the same period a year earlier. That’s close to 20% of Twitter’s revenue for the quarter.
