Social media platform owned by Elon Musk, X has been told to pay a large sum of money to a former employee Gary Rooney, because he was unfairly fired. Rooney had worked at the company, previously known as Twitter, for almost 10 years and was a senior procurement officer when he was let go in December 2022, shortly after Musk took over. The company has been ordered to pay Rooney over $602,640 (INR 5 crore approx) as compensation for his unfair dismissal.
On Tuesday, Ireland’s Workplace Relations Commission ruled that Gary Rooney’s 2022 dismissal was unfair and ordered X to pay him a record-breaking amount, the largest award ever made by the agency.
After Elon Musk took over X in November 2022, he sent an email to all employees, including Gary Rooney, demanding they agree to work long hours at high intensity or accept a large severance package. Employees had just one day to respond by clicking ‘yes’ to accept the new terms. X claimed that Rooney voluntarily resigned when he failed to check the box agreeing to the new, unspecified working conditions outlined in Musk’s email.
The Irish Workplace Relations Commission rejected X’s claim that Gary Rooney resigned voluntarily by not clicking ‘yes’ to Musk’s email. The commission ruled that failing to respond affirmatively did not constitute resignation. The complainant’s solicitor, Barry Kenny, emphasized that the record-breaking award reflects the severity of the case, stating, ‘It’s unacceptable for Elon Musk or any company to treat employees this way in this country.
In October 2022, Elon Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion and promptly laid off nearly half of the workforce. He then issued a stern ultimatum to the remaining employees.
This case is just one of several that have arisen since Elon Musk acquired the microblogging platform. Numerous lawsuits have been filed alleging that X employees were denied their promised severance packages, sparking ongoing legal battles.
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