This was bound to happen. Twitter HQ is currently a mess, given all the changes it has to deal with. Interim CEO Parag Agrawal just announced that key leaders Keyvon Beykpour and Revenue Products Chief Bruce Falck will be leaving the company effective immediately.
Switching Things Up
Of the two mentioned above, Beykpour is the more visible one. Beykpour first crossed paths with Twitter back in 2015 when it acquired Periscope. Beykpour often represents the company in public forums and appearances and has been a key driver of several strategic product shifts. Meanwhile, Falck has been the driving force behind many of Twitter’s ad tools and products. The company suffers a huge loss with both of these men now gone.
How much this impacts Twitter overall is all but impossible to measure, but since the departure of Jack Dorsey, along with several other long-term key decision-makers, it’s certainly a time of significant and arguably fundamental change for the company – that is until we see just what kind of impact Elon Musk will bring.
Agrawal, who will soon be replaced by Musk as head of the company, announced the decisions via an all-staff email. In the email, Agrawal outlined a temporary hiring freeze and other cost-cutting measures. He states:
“At the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, the decision was made to invest aggressively to deliver big growth in audience and revenue, and as a company, we did not hit intermediate milestones that enable confidence in these goals. More recently, the global macroeconomic environment has become less favorable, the war in Ukraine has impacted our results, and may continue to do so […] In order to responsibly manage the organization as we sharpen our roadmaps and our work, we need to continue to be intentional about our teams, hiring, and costs.”
Despite all these actions taken ahead of Musk’s likely crowning, there are still questions about whether his deal ultimately goes through. Apparently, some reports suggest that Musk faces further complications with his takeover, which could end up possibly de-railing his plan.
“Though Twitter’s board approved [Musk’s] purchase, it could still take months for the deal to close, and there’s no guarantee that it will […] The Information reported that the Federal Trade Commission is probing the timing of Musk’s disclosure. Bloomberg later said the FTC is separately reviewing the acquisition itself, though many experts don’t expect the deal to raise antitrust concerns.”
While the bid will still likely push through, there are some lingering concerns. Musk’s Tesla shareholders have their reservations about Musk taking out a loan that would be tied to his Tesla Shares. However, he is looking to avoid this complication through alternate financing. While on the topic of shares, Twitter shares have currently fallen to $46 as a result of these complications – well below Musk’s purchase price of $54.20.
The Wrap
As you can see, there are still a lot of moving parts involved with Musk’s takeover, and while he’ll eventually step in as CEO and owner of the company, the timing and specifics about the deal are still in flux, which, until fully cemented, ultimately mean uncertainty for Twitter. While Agrawal is commendable in his efforts to help cut costs despite him likely not being part of the app’s future, his decision to push out key leaders is also questionable, especially at a time like this.
The bottom line – Twitter is changing. Regardless of the roles and mechanisms, Twitter has now effectively entered a new era and chapter of its story.
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