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Twitter Freezes Hiring as Two Senior Executives Leave the Company

General managers Bruce Falck and Kayvon Beykpour are departing amid Elon Musk’s takeover

By Salvador Rodriguez and Deepa Seetharaman, WSJ

Updated May. 12, 2022 1:55 pm ET

Twitter Inc. TWTR -2.66%▼ Chief Executive Parag Agrawal said the company is pausing hiring and looking at ways to trim costs as he announced on Thursday the departure of two senior executives, according to an internal memo.

The changes come weeks after the social-media platform agreed to be acquired by Elon Musk for $44 billion and are the latest example of a technology company trying to adapt to a sudden shift in the outlook for digital advertising that had seen robust growth during the pandemic.

“Effective this week, we are pausing most hiring and backfills, except for business critical roles,” Mr. Agrawal wrote in the memo, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Twitter will examine extended offers and rescind whichever it determines should be pulled back, the memo notes. The company also plans to reduce spending on contractors and consultants, travel and events, marketing, its real estate footprint, infrastructure spend “and other operational costs,” Mr. Agrawal wrote.

“Please continue to treat Twitter’s resources as you would your own, and manage tightly to your budgets, prioritizing what matters most,” he wrote.

Twitter isn’t planning companywide layoffs, Mr. Agrawal wrote.

Bruce Falck, general manager of revenue, and Kayvon Beykpour, general manager of consumer, are leaving after being promoted to their positions in December. The promotions came days after Mr. Agrawal was announced as the company’s new chief executive, succeeding co-founder Jack Dorsey.

Jay Sullivan is replacing both executives, according to a spokesperson for the company. Mr. Sullivan has served as vice president of product since November, according to his LinkedIn profile. Mr. Sullivan will replace Mr. Beykpour and serve as the interim replacement for Mr. Falck, the spokesperson said.

Mr. Beykpour announced his departure in a series of tweets, saying he was asked to leave the company by Mr. Agrawal while he was on paternity leave.

Write to Salvador Rodriguez at salvador.rodriguez@wsj.com and Deepa Seetharaman at Deepa.Seetharaman@wsj.com