Bloomberg reports that Elon Musk plans to eliminate 3,700 jobs at Twitter, or roughly half of the social media company's workforce, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

According to reports, Twitter's new billionaire owner plans to notify affected employees on Friday, October 4.

Musk is attempting to reduce costs following his US$44 billion (S$62 billion) acquisition, although the total number of employees to be let go is subject to change.

The end of work-from-anywhere

Moreover, Musk reportedly intends to reverse the company's current work-from-anywhere policy.

Surviving employees are expected to report to work, with a few exceptions, according to the sources.

According to sources, Musk and a team of advisors have been weighing various scenarios involving layoffs and other policy changes.

In one of the scenarios, laid-off workers are to be offered 60 days of severance pay.

Cuts made over the first weekend of acquisition

It was also reported that a few directors and vice-president positions were eliminated over the weekend.

Sources indicate that other leaders were asked to compile lists of employees on their teams who could be let go.

Robert Kaiden, the chief accounting officer of Twitter, left the organization after the layoffs were resolved.

He is one of the final pre-Musk executives to leave his position.

Musk initially stated that he would serve as interim CEO himself.

He has dissolved the board and become the sole director of the company, but later stated that this is "temporary."

Tesla employees in Twitter

A source stated that senior personnel on the product teams were instructed to aim for a 50% reduction in headcount.

Tesla employees conducted a review of the lists.

Engineers and directors from Tesla, the automobile manufacturer that Musk also controls, reviewed the lists.

According to sources, layoff lists were compiled and ranked based on individuals' contributions to Twitter's code during their time at the company.

The evaluation was conducted by both Tesla and Twitter personnel.

Musk had previously denied he was eliminating 75% of Twitter's workforce.

Staffing priorities

In recent weeks, Musk began to indicate his personnel priorities.

He stated his intent to concentrate on the core product.

Early in October, he tweeted, "Software engineering, server operations, and design will reign supreme."

To generate more revenue, Musk will soon begin charging for Twitter verification.

Verification badges will be available for a monthly subscription of $8 beginning on November 7.

It was also reported that users who already possess a blue verification badge will have a grace period of several months before they must pay for the badge or lose it.