Understand this story
On October 18, 2026, Zuckerberg offered a judgment on the Lex Fridman podcast, saying that after Musk took over Twitter he cut 80% of its staff, setting an example for all of Silicon Valley. On reflection, he argued that the core of these layoffs was not saving on salaries, but raising the density of technical talent, flattening management layers, and shortening the reporting distance between frontline engineers and the CEO; he also mentioned that when he launched the year of efficiency in March, he had middle managers get back to writing code. The same report also cautioned that the early stage of Twitter's layoffs came at the cost of advertisers leaving and compliance review grinding to a halt, making it hard for ordinary companies to copy. At present, this judgment is presented by a single representative report, and there are no subsequent factual developments.
AI-generated from public reports
Latest development · Report
Zuckerberg on Musk cutting 80% of Twitter: cutting middle management, not saving moneyDevelopments
1 confirmed developments
Reports and discussion timeline
Browse reports and discussion by time. Their evidence levels remain distinct.
Oct 18
AYi AI Notes
Zuckerberg on Musk cutting 80% of Twitter: cutting middle management, not saving money
In the Lex Fridman podcast, Zuckerberg reviewed how Musk cut 80% of Twitter's staff after taking over, arguing that the core was not saving on salaries but increasing the density of technical talent, flattening management layers, and shortening the reporting distance between frontline engineers and the CEO. He mentioned that when he pushed his "year of efficiency" in March, he also had middle managers get back to writing code. The article also notes that Twitter's early layoffs came at the cost of advertisers leaving and compliance review grinding to a halt, making it hard for ordinary companies to copy.