A former Twitter employee won over $600,000 in a lawsuit after being fired for failing to respond to an email from Elon Musk that demanded employees commit to a new “hardcore” work environment. Musk’s leadership at Twitter, now X, has been tumultuous, and his early communication with staff set the tone. In an email, Musk outlined his expectations, stating that employees would need to work long hours at high intensity, with only exceptional performance deemed acceptable. He also included a link that employees had to click to confirm their commitment to this new culture, with non-compliance resulting in termination and a three-month severance package.

Gary Rooney, the former director at Twitter’s Dublin headquarters, saw the email but mistook it for spam and ignored it. HR later informed him that by not responding, he had effectively resigned, and his contract was terminated. Rooney contested this decision, taking the case to Ireland’s Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). The WRC ruled in his favor, stating that the 24-hour deadline given by Musk was unreasonable, and awarded Rooney €550,131 ($607,802) for lost earnings.

This ruling came as part of Musk’s cost-cutting efforts after his acquisition of Twitter, which saw the company’s employee count shrink by 80%, from about 7,500 to around 1,500 by April 2023. Despite the financial loss in this case, Musk’s actions have had a significant impact on the company’s workforce.

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