Dorsey just announced Twitter is laying off 8% of its workforce – over 300 people.
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In Square’s filing for an initial public offering earlier this month, Dorsey disclosed he planned to donate 40 million shares, or 10 per cent of the company, to a charity foundation he started, which invested in artists, musicians and local businesses. In the month following his transition the company has announced its first major layoff, unveiled a new “moments” feature for news events, and apologized to developers and promised to renew the relationship. Meanwhile, Facebook is only two years older and boasts a current user base over 1.5 billion. That’s not far-fetched, even though Twitter has been struggling to show growth these days.
Giving out staff rewards as a means to placate an annoyed workforce can be a pretty standard management tool, but Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s latest move probably beats your typical casual Friday.
Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer revealed last week that he has become the third-biggest individual shareholder in Twitter after taking a 4 percent stake in the company.
Dorsey’s ascension from interim CEO to permanent CEO for Twitter hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing.
“It’s going to take a few time, it’s not going to happen overnight but I commit to you that we will make the right decisions and serve this community in the right way”, he said. Dorsey wrote in a note on the SEC’s S-1 form for Square.
The 7 million shares of the 22 million Dorsey is giving away represents around one percent of Twitter at large.
The Twitter CEO’s gesture of returning stock to company employees may turn out to be a smart move.
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After the recent staff cuts that Twitter undertook, this announcement is a morale booster for the employees.
