Citing internal records, CNBC reported that Twitter's full-time headcount has reduced to about 1,300 active, working employees including fewer than 550 full-time engineers by title, according to news agency Reuters.
The report also stated that about 75 of Twitter's 1,300 employees are on leave including about 40 engineers.
Responding to a tweet quoting CNBC, the billionaire said, “The note is incorrect. There are about 2300 active, working employees at Twitter. There are still hundreds of employees working on trust & safety, along with several thousand contractors."
Earlier on January 18, sources familiar with the company informed that Twitter is planning to fire 50 employees from its product team in the coming weeks.
The layoffs occur six weeks after Elon Musk, the company's top executive, had allegedly told colleagues there would be no further layoffs. The reports stated that it might result in less than 2,000 people working for the company.
Fears of an increase in hate speech on Twitter have been fuelled by staff reductions to date, which also affected personnel in the content moderation division. Twitter did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
A top ad executive told during a staff meeting that Twitter's revenue for the fourth quarter dropped by around 35% to $1.025 billion.
Musk took over Twitter in October and swiftly moved through a number of product and organizational changes. The company rolled out Twitter-verified Blue check-mark as a paid service and also laid off about 50% staff.
(With Reuters inputs)
