X Reaches Settlements with Thousands of Former Employees Over Severance Disputes

This week, X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, agreed to settle thousands of lawsuits filed by former employees who were terminated during Musk’s 2022 acquisition of the company.

The decision to settle marks a reversal for the billionaire, whose company had previously contested the obligation to pay severance as specified in the terms of his purchase agreement for the platform, formerly known as Twitter.

Following the acquisition, Musk reduced the company’s staff from approximately 7,500 to fewer than 2,000 employees. In 2023, a class-action lawsuit claimed that Musk owed nearly $500 million in severance to former workers.

According to a legal filing submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday, X has agreed to resolve this class-action lawsuit. The financial details of the settlement remain confidential.

Additionally, X has reached a settlement with over 2,000 former employees engaged in arbitration over severance pay, as communicated to affected workers recently by sources familiar with the situation. This agreement is reported to cover nearly all severance owed, including accrued interest, though the exact amount has not been disclosed.

Meanwhile, legal proceedings continue between Musk and former senior Twitter executives regarding $128 million in severance payments.

Representatives for X and attorneys for both sides declined to comment on the settlements.