Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey apologies to employees laid off by Elon Musk: ‘I own the responsibility’

The former CEO said he can “understand” why former employees might be angry with him after the layoffs

Elon Musk, left, and Jack Dorsey, right (AFP/Jim Watson via Getty Images)

Twitter founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey apologised to employees on Saturday after current owner Elon Musk announced that layoffs of nearly half the company’s 7,500 employees would begin.

Mr Dosey said he "grew the company size too quickly" in his apology.

"Folks at Twitter past and present are strong and resilient," he wrote. "They will always find a way no matter how difficult the moment. I realise many are angry with me. I own the responsibility for why everyone is in this situation: I grew the company size too quickly. I apologise for that."

He said he was "grateful for" and "love" all of the companies past and present employees.

"I don’t expect that to be mutual in this moment … or ever … and I understand," he wrote.

Mr Musk purchased the platform for $44bn a week ago and immediately fired some of the company’s top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, after taking control.

The Tesla CEO’s takeover of the company has left many users questioning whether or not they will stay on the platform. Mr Musk has already announced a plan to charge users $8 a month for "Twitter Blue," which will be the only way for accounts to maintain their "verified" status and badge.

Beyond the neutering of the verification system, some users have also expressed fears that hate speech will run rampant on the site. A Washington Post report cited a study that found that the use of the n-word slur spiked by 500 per cent in the hours and days after Mr Musk took over the platform.

Yoel Roth, the company’s head of safety and security, tweeted that hate speech would continue to be monitored and adderssed under Mr Musk’s leadership.

"These issues aren’t new, and the people targeted by hateful conduct aren’t numbers or data points. We’re doing to continue investing in policy and technology to make things better," he said.

Mr Musk announced that the platform would form a "content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints" in a recent tweet, and said no major content decisions would be made prior to the council’s convening.

He also said that the platform would "not allow anyone who was de-platformed for violating Twitter rules back on the platform until we have a clear process for doing so, which will take at least a few more weeks."

"Twitter’s content moderation council will include representatives with widely divergent views, which will certainly include the civil rights community and groups who face hate-fueled violence," he said.

In the meantime, some users have expressed interest in leaving the site, fearing what it may become. Those users have caused a surge of interest in an alternative social media platform called Mastodon, which was started in 2016, but did not see widespread public adoption.