Another complaint has been filed against Twitter in connection with the recent layoff of half of its personnel, alleging the social media corporation disproportionately targeted female employees for layoffs.
According to a proposed class action filed late Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco, when Twitter was taken over by Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, it laid off 57% of its female employees compared to 47% of men.
Musk let off approximately 3,700 employees in early November as part of a cost-cutting strategy, and hundreds more subsequently resigned.
According to the current case, the gender discrepancy was particularly pronounced in engineering occupations, where 63% of women lost their jobs compared to 48% of men.
Two women who were fired off by Twitter last month filed a lawsuit accusing the corporation of breaking federal and California statutes prohibiting workplace sex discrimination.
Twitter did not reply immediately to a request for comment.
According to Shannon Liss-Riordan, a plaintiffs’ lawyer, women “had targets on their backs” once Musk bought the company, regardless of their aptitude or contributions.
In three other outstanding claims filed in the same court since last month, Liss-Riordan represents current and former Twitter employees.
Among the claims are that Twitter fired employees and contractors without providing the required advance notice and refused to pay promised severance pay, and that Musk pushed out workers with disabilities by refusing to allow remote work and encouraging employees to be more “hardcore.”
At least three employees have filed separate complaints against Twitter with the U.S. They claimed retaliation from the National Labor Relations Board for campaigning for better working conditions.
Twitter has denied misconduct in the advance notice case and has not reacted to the other accusations.
