Twitter has been ordered to pay a record €550,000 ($607,000) in compensation for unfair dismissal to a former senior executive in Ireland. The ruling was made by Ireland’s Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) following the termination of the executive’s employment by the social media platform.
The incident dates back to November 2022, shortly after billionaire Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter, rebranding it as X. Musk, as CEO, enforced a new vision for the platform, requiring all staff to agree to these changes or face termination.
Musk presented the staff with an ultimatum to either agree to the new direction of Twitter or accept severance pay. The former executive, identified as Gary Rooney, did not agree to the new conditions by failing to click the requisite box.
Rooney claimed that he was forced to agree to new terms within an unreasonable deadline, leading to his wrongful termination. Despite Twitter’s claims of resignation, Rooney disputed accepting any voluntary offer.
The WRC found that failing to agree to new terms did not equate to resignation and that the ultimatum given did not provide reasonable notice. Rooney was offered severance pay, which led to his official termination after more than nine years with the company.
The compensation awarded to Rooney by the WRC includes lost remuneration and estimated future earnings. Twitter has been ordered to pay these sums as a result of the unfair dismissal ruling.
Twitter’s handling of the situation has been scrutinized, with legal representatives arguing that the company’s actions were not in line with Irish employment law. Twitter is yet to publicly respond to the ruling.
In other news, Twitter faces a lawsuit from its former chairman over stock options, and is engaged in legal battles with advertisers. Meanwhile, rival platform Bluesky has seen increased signups, highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by Twitter in the social media landscape.
