Twitter recently faced another lawsuit stemming from the purging of half its workforce, which accused the social media company of disproportionately targeting female employees for layoffs.
After Twitter was taken over by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, it laid off 57 percent of its employees, 47 percent of whom were men, according to a class-action lawsuit filed late Wednesday in San Francisco federal court.
Twitter laid off about 3,700 employees in early November as part of Musk’s cost-cutting measures, and hundreds more have resigned.
The gender disparity was starker for engineering roles, where 63 per cent of women lost their jobs compared to 48 per cent of men, according to a new trial.
The lawsuit, filed by two women fired by Twitter last month, accuses the company of violating federal and California laws that prohibit sexual discrimination in the workplace.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shannon Liss-Riordan, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said that after Musk acquired the company, the women “had targets on their backs” regardless of their talent and contributions.
Liss-Riordan represents current and former Twitter employees in three other pending lawsuits filed in the same court since last month.
The cases include a variety of allegations, including that Twitter fired employees and contractors without the legally required notice and failed to pay promised severance pay, and that Musk failed to allow telecommuting and employees forced disabled workers by calling for more work “tough.”
At least three workers have filed separate complaints against Twitter with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging they were retaliated against for advocating for better working conditions.
Twitter has denied wrongdoing in the pre-warning lawsuit and has not responded to other complaints.
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