- Elon Musk still approves Twitter hires but reportedly avoids candidates previously laid off from jobs.
- This criteria presents a paradox as Musk cut half of Twitter’s staff himself when taking over.
- Musk seems unwilling to hire workers like those he laid off amid rehiring efforts.
According to an anonymous source familiar with hiring at Twitter interviewed by Fortune, Elon Musk still has significant involvement in evaluating potential new hires at the social media company he purchased last year.
While no longer directly conducting interviews, Musk reviews applications and gives yes or no approvals.
Musk’s controversial hiring criteria
The source stated that one clear red flag for Musk is if a candidate has previously been laid off from a job – regardless of the reason.
“If you’ve been laid off, you shouldn’t even waste your time applying,” they noted. This criteria is despite Musk himself laying off about half of Twitter’s workforce within hours of taking over the company.
Twitter’s hiring paradox
In later defending the significant staff cuts, Musk acknowledged that some people were likely let go unnecessarily in the rush. However, he has since begun hiring again for dozens of open positions as Twitter aims to establish a new trust and safety center in Austin.
Even with the turmoil, Twitter continues to draw interest from candidates enamored with Musk and his companies, with thousands of applications reportedly submitted just for intern roles.
While laying people off himself, Musk apparently remains unwilling to hire those same impacted workers then.
