Nearly half of Twitter's top executives are on their way out the door -- some heading to direct competitors like Instagram.
The stock is in free fall with one analyst calling it "total junk."
And industry watchers are wondering when or if the social network will start significantly growing its user base again.
In short, it's been a pretty lousy week for the little blue bird and the team that keeps it running.
With that as the backdrop, Twitter's CEO and cofounder Jack Dorsey took the stage at the company's regular "Tea Time" all-hands meeting on Thursday to rally the troops and pay respects to the departing executives -- while wearing a plain white t-shirt and a pair of pricey Rick Owens shoes fit for someone just teetering on the brink of billionaire status.
If we are focused on learning we will do the right thing ~ @jack #oneteam pic.twitter.com/nFe9va5t5h— Melissa Daimler (@mdaimler) January 28, 2016
Joyful applause for the brilliant @aroetter and @kevinweil at Tea Time. Amazing people ❤️❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/bkwu76Yfpm— Bruce Daisley (@brucedaisley) January 28, 2016
Fired up with this crowd today at tea time #ItsJustUs pic.twitter.com/pTXucfdaTJ— Will Stickney (@WillStick) January 28, 2016
Ok @jack, you've succeeded in firing up Twitter employees. Now please fire up the public markets ;-) #oneteam #onestock #sendbryntocollege— Sara Mauskopf (@sm) January 28, 2016
The pep rally didn't stop there. It continued, fittingly enough, on Twitter as employees shared their reasons for wanting to work at the company in spite of all the recent drama using the hashtag #OneTeam.
I joined Twitter because I've loved the little blue bird since 2007. A Tweet can mean so much more than 140 #oneteam pic.twitter.com/A1l5m1Pb5n— Jason Rand (@rand) January 28, 2016
I joined Twitter to positively influence as many lives as possible. #oneteam— Mike Davidson (@mikeindustries) January 28, 2016
Because news matters. Elections have consequences. And Twitter is the best way to engage with both. #OneTeam #LoveWhereYouWork— Adam Sharp (@AdamS) January 28, 2016