After buying Twitter (now X) for $44 billion in 2022, Elon Musk slashed 80% of the staff, laying off 6,000 employees. Musk demanded the remaining employees justify their roles and rate their colleagues while pushing for “extremely hardcore” and high-intensity work. The cuts hit various departments, including diversity, product development, design, and content moderation. Musk's privatization of Twitter has made these sweeping changes less transparent, raising questions about the company's future direction.