Elon Musk is reportedly planning to cut Twitter’s workforce in half

The massive layoffs Twitter has been bracing for since Elon Musk launched his takeover may be on the horizon. According to Bloomberg, the website’s new owner and “Chief Twit” plans to cut 3,700 employees from the company’s workforce, cutting the number of staff members in half, in an effort to cut costs. Musk and a team of advisers are still reportedly finalizing the terms of the layoffs, but one option they’re considering is offering the people they let go 60 days of severance. The CEO may break the news to affected employees as early as Friday.

Those who manage to keep their jobs may have to get used to working from the office again. Bloomberg says Musk also plans to end Twitter’s work-from-anywhere policy and require employees to report to offices, with some exceptions. The outlet previously reported that Twitter employees were worried about the changes Musk might bring when it comes to this particular policy before he even took over. It’s no secret that the CEO is not a fan of work-from-home arrangements and has previously issued an ultimatum to Tesla and SpaceX employees, demanding they spend 40 hours in the office or leave the company.

Before Musk’s takeover of the social network began, it was reported that he would lay off 75 percent of the company’s employees. He reportedly denied those numbers when he visited Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco, but it was pretty clear that layoffs were still in the plan. After the deal to buy Twitter was sealed, Musk’s first move was to fire former CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal and other top executives.

More director and vice president positions were vacated over the weekend, while some remaining Twitter employees in senior positions were asked to write lists of staff members who could be cut. Those layoff lists were reportedly ranked based on each person’s contribution to Twitter’s code, and Musk enlisted the help of Tesla executives and engineers to grade them.

In addition to ordering mass layoffs to save money, Musk is also implementing huge changes to make money, such as raising the price of Twitter Blue to $8 a month from $3. Bloomberg says the new prices may continue live on Monday next week. The subscription will also be a requirement for blue verification badges going forward, although users who are already verified will get months to start paying before losing their badge.