Twitter lawyer: No 'exit ramp' for Elon Musk out of takeover deal

(CNN Business)Twitter is warning employees that their bonuses might be half of what was originally expected at the start of the year, in the latest sign of belt tightening at the company amid uncertainty with its pending acquisition and a souring economy.

Twitter (TWTR) confirmed to CNN Business that its bonus pool is currently tracking at 50% of its prior target, based on the company’s financial performance. Twitter cited significant challenges to its business since the approval of the bonus plan in January, including fallout from the economic downturn and its uncertain deal to be acquired by billionaire Elon Musk.
The New York Times was first to report the news, citing an email to staffers from Twitter CFO Ned Segal. Twitter confirmed to CNN Business that Segal sent the email.

Twitter has sued Musk in an attempt to force him to honor his $44 billion merger agreement, after the Tesla CEO said he wanted to back out of the deal. Musk and his legal team have accused Twitter of misstating the number of fake and spam bot accounts on its platform. Twitter has suggested Musk is using bots as a pretext to try to get out a deal over which he now has buyer’s remorse, following the market downturn.

A five day trial is set to take place in October. Twitter had argued for an expedited trial, noting the uncertainty from the deal does harm to its business.

Like other social media companies, Twitter is also confronting a slowdown in ad sales as advertisers cut their budgets amid fears of a recession. Last month, Twitter reported quarterly revenue of $1.18 billion, a decline of 1% from the prior year.

Previously, Twitter announced it was laying off a portion of its recruiting team and pausing most hiring as it sought to pull back on costs. A number of other tech companies have also cut staff and implemented hiring freezes in recent months.

CNN Business’ Clare Duffy contributed to this report.
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