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Layoffs and Employer branding at Twitter and Mozilla--a curious case!

 A curious case of employer banding that doesn't crumble, even under deeply distressing times when staff get laid off, offices get closed, and certain teams get wiped out in sudden changes of events.

Twitter acquisition by Elon and subsequent mass layoffs at Twitter/X is a well debated topic!

Elon is known for drastic actions, taking big risks, and making huge success stories, not easy to replicate.

He is a maverick businessman, a technocrat, and an industry leader with open political ideologies and allegiances.

Twitter/X doesn't have an official Glassdoor page! They don't own any!

Ever heard them flashing their Great Place to Work, Best Place to Work, Great Place to Work for Women, Great Place to Work for all 47 genders, etc.?

They inspire you with their SpaceX program, that they built using used rockets, bought cheap and today, SpaceX rocket will be rescuing Sunita Williams, who is stuck in the space, and she shall touch earth in Feb 2025. Sunita Williams, Barry Wilmore, Boeing Starliner: Why NASA Picked Elon Musk's SpaceX To Bring Back Astronauts From Space (ndtv.com)


Elon Musk never asked for it after a series of layoffs at Twitter (X), which he bought for $44 billion! Fired, nearly all staff in India and the whole pack of marketing folks got relieved immediately!

Musk is magical as well as mercurial, and his decisions are bold and trending! Tesla, SpaceX, and now X and his decisions have given huge returns! Does Musk care about what people say on Glassdoor or other social media about his series of ruthless layoffs on Twitter and X?

Hiring and firing are common, as new-age leaders and staff don't consider layoffs a stigma or a tormenting event!


Pic: Mozilla Layoffs-Credit TechCrunch

Mozilla laid off 250 people in August 2020, affecting staff from the US, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia! They shut down their Taipei office! The Firefox team was hugely impacted. And then, to understand employee pulse post-layoffs, they floated a Glassdoor Layoff survey. This is quite a courageous decision.

Despite layoffs, their Glassdoor rating held high at 4.2! In complete contrast, twitter doesn't even own a Glassdoor page and it's CEO (Linda Yaccarino) approval is 27% as opposed to Mozilla's 72%. Twitter's overall Glassdoor rating is 3.2, and only 36% wanted to recommend Twitter as an employer to their friends, as 93% chose Mozilla!

You may not be a Twitter or a Mozilla, but you need to know what employees or future hires need to know about you. What is authentic and unique about your employer brand—everything that people acknowledge and appreciate—and even those aspects that challenge your beliefs about a great place to work?

Poor employer brand leads to poor talent retention too, and agonizingly enough, seeing them leave you, to join your competitors!

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