Jack Dorsey just gave a third of his Twitter stock to employees

 By 
Karissa Bell
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Barely a week after laying off more than 300 employees, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey just gave a big gift to the company's workforce.

The Twitter founder plans to give one third of his stock --what amounts to 1% of the company -- back to his employees, Dorsey announced Thursday.

[seealso URL= "http://sale-online.click/2015/10/21/twitter-flight-fabric/"]

Saying he would "rather have a smaller part of something big than a bigger part of something small," Dorsey noted the move is meant to help Twitter continue to grow. The shares, which are worth roughly $200 million, will go into the company's employee equity pool, which means there will be more Twitter stock available to employees.

I'm giving ~1/3rd of my Twitter stock (exactly 1% of the company) to our employee equity pool to reinvest directly in our people.— Jack (@jack) October 23, 2015

As for me: I'd rather have a smaller part of something big than a bigger part of something small. I'm confident we can make Twitter big! — Jack (@jack) October 23, 2015

The move comes at a crucial time for the company as the now two-time Twitter CEO attempts to jumpstart user growth. Dorsey laid off 336 employees -- 8% of its staff -- just days after officially taking over as CEO of Twitter. The layoffs came primarily from the company's engineering department, which Dorsey said would benefit from having a smaller team.

Though Dorsey said he hopes reinventing in employees will help "make Twitter big," the move will likely also boost morale among employees still reeling from the recent layoffs.

The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
These newsletters may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. By clicking Subscribe, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!