Court injunction saves Twitter exec from being fired
We should not have let that sink into the Twitter headquarters.
Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, the social media platform has been riddled with controversy — half of the app's top advertisers have left; no one knows what's going on with verified checkmarks; a bunch of right-wing figures were reinstated; the copyright system is messed up; so, so, so, so many people have been let go. And now, according to the Irish Times, a senior Twitter executive secured a temporary injunction from the High Court of Dublin to prevent her from getting fired.
Sinead McSweeney is Twitter's Ireland-based global vice president of public policy. She says she was locked out of her work accounts and Twitter’s Dublin office when she didn't respond to an infamous email from Musk asking employees to commit to Twitter's new "extremely hardcore" culture. If workers didn't respond "yes" to the email, they had to leave, Musk said. McSweeney didn't hit "yes" because, according to The Times, the email didn't explain what Musk's expectations were for the employees who did stay and the severance package didn't meet her "contractual entitlements." She received an email confirming her apparent "voluntary resignation" on Nov. 18.
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According to the Irish Times, the company told her she had accepted an exit package by not responding, but McSweeney said she didn't resign. Either way, she's being treated as if she no longer works for Twitter, which is an odd thing to do to someone who is pretty sure she still works for Twitter.
McSweeney is still, reasonably, a bit worried about the "mixed messages" she's been receiving from Musk. After receiving the solicitors' letter, Twitter's lawyers said her IT systems would be restored. That has not happened. She says she feels "unable to work" and feels like she is in "no man's land" in relation to her employment.
On Friday, a judge granted McSweeney's injunction which prevents her from being fired but doesn't reinstate her employment. The court will revisit her case next week.
Christianna Silva is a senior culture reporter covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on the intersection of social media, politics, and the economic systems that govern us. Since joining Mashable in 2021, they have reported extensively on meme creators, content moderation, and the nature of online creation under capitalism.
Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow her on Bluesky @christiannaj.bsky.social and Instagram @christianna_j.
