Twitter chief Elon Musk fired three top executives when he took over the social media platform. The then company CEO Parag Agrawal, policy chief Vijaya Gadde along with CFO Nel Segal were removed from their positions a day after Musk took over. Turns out they have all filed lawsuits against Musk demanding reimbursement for litigation costs, investigations and inquiries related to their former jobs. Agrawal, along with the company’s former chief legal and financial officers, claim in the lawsuit that they are owed over $1 million, which Twitter is legally obligated to pay.
As per AFP report, The court filing listed various expenses associated with inquiries by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), but did not disclose the nature of the investigations or if they are still ongoing. Agrawal and former chief financial officer Ned Segal testified to the SEC last year and continued to engage with federal authorities. The SEC is examining whether Musk complied with securities rules when he purchased Twitter shares.
Former Twitter chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde participated in a US congressional hearing about big tech and free speech after Musk released “Twitter Files” related to the site’s content moderation. Gadde was also named in a lawsuit by a man who claimed he was “doxed” at Twitter as a white supremacist.
Agrawal, Gadde, and Segal were terminated from their positions by Musk in late October after his $44 billion takeover of Twitter. The three former executives contend that Twitter is obligated to reimburse them, but the company has only acknowledged receiving their invoices.
Even though Agarwal had to leave his position in just 10 months, he left a very rich man. As per reports, Parag Agrawal not just had the golden parachute clause in his contract with Twitter but he also held some shares in the company. According to a Twitter filing with the SEC in the US, Parag holds a little over 128,000 Twitter shares, which are now worth around $7 million at the price Musk is paying. So Agrawal has likely received a severance pay of close to 50 million.
After taking over Twitter, Musk wiped out over 75 per cent of Twitter workforce, which raised concerns about the platform’s stability and ability to combat misinformation and other abuse. Twitter has also faced allegations of not paying rent or other expenses as Musk follows through on his pledge to “cut costs like crazy.” In the meantime, market observers believe that advertising revenue at Twitter has declined due to concerns about the rampant spread of misinformation and hateful content as Musk reduces moderation efforts.