Elon Musk and X agree to pay out massive settlements to abruptly axed Twitter employees

Bastrop, Texas - Elon Musk and his social media platform X recently agreed to pay out millions of dollars to settle a lawsuit from former Twitter employees who were abruptly fired without severance pay.

Elon Musk and X have agreed to settle a lawsuit from 6,000 former Twitter employees who claimed they were fired without recieving promised severance pay.
Elon Musk and X have agreed to settle a lawsuit from 6,000 former Twitter employees who claimed they were fired without recieving promised severance pay.  © Collage: IMAGO / Dreamstime & Stefani Reynolds / AFP

In October 2022, Musk officially bought Twitter and quickly began implementing massive changes to the company, including rebranding it to X and laying off 6,000 employees.

According to Reuters, the former employees banded together to file a class action lawsuit against the company claiming that a severance plan presented by Twitter in 2019 – which offered two months of an employee's base pay and one week of pay for each full year they were employed – was undercut by Musk, who only paid out either one month of pay or no compensation at all.

Collectively, the employees claimed they were owed $500 million in severance pay.

Are Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce ready to take the next step in their relationship?
Taylor Swift Are Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce ready to take the next step in their relationship?
Kourtney Kardashian flaunts NSFW look after dismissing baby rumors
Kourtney Kardashian Kourtney Kardashian flaunts NSFW look after dismissing baby rumors

According to recent court documents obtained by The Independent, both parties "have reached a settlement agreement in principle and began negotiating the terms of a long-form settlement agreement on August 19, 2025."

The document added that, if approved, the agreement will "resolve the litigation in its entirety" and "moot" an upcoming hearing scheduled for the case.

Musk, who spent millions of his own money to help Donald Trump get re-elected, is facing another lawsuit for offering a $1 million-a-day giveaway to Americans that signed a petition to vote.

Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / Dreamstime & Stefani Reynolds / AFP

More on Elon Musk: