Fact check: Did remaining twitter staff get a pay rise after elon musk laid off 80% of the workforce

1. Summary of the results

Based on the available analyses, while the claim about 80% workforce reduction is accurate, there is no concrete evidence of any pay rises for remaining staff. Multiple sources confirm that Twitter's workforce was reduced from approximately 8,000 to 1,500 employees by April 2023 ^{[1] [2] [2]}. The layoffs were part of Musk's cost-cutting measures, with the CEO claiming the company was losing $4 million per day ^[3].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several important contextual elements are missing from the original question:

• Employees who were laid off received 3 months of severance pay, which Musk claimed was 50% more than legally required ^[3]
• Remaining employees were given an ultimatum to commit to being "extremely hardcore" or leave ^[4]
• There are legal protections requiring Musk to provide severance benefits "no less favorable" than before his takeover ^[5]
• The layoffs were part of a larger tech industry trend, though Twitter's approach under Musk created particular uncertainty ^[5]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question makes an assumption about pay rises that isn't supported by any of the provided sources. This assumption might stem from a common belief that fewer employees means more resources to distribute among remaining staff. However, the sources indicate that the layoffs were primarily a cost-cutting measure ^[1], suggesting that increasing remaining staff's compensation would have been contrary to the company's financial strategy at the time.

The question also focuses on potential benefits for remaining employees while overlooking the significant impact on those who were laid off. The sources indicate that many laid-off employees found positions at other tech companies ^[1], suggesting that the narrative of remaining employees potentially benefiting from the layoffs might be oversimplified.