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It seems to be another day of setbacks for Elon Musk-owned Twitter. A judge for a Colorado district court has ruled that Twitter must vacate their office in Boulder after failing to pay rent.
The microblogging bird platform was sued by the landlord of the building in early May.
According to court documents assessed by The Denver Post, Twitter and the landlord of Twitter’s office in Boulder signed a lease for four building suites in February 2020. However, the microblogging site failed to fulfil its rental payment obligations. Initially, Twitter had deposited a “letter of credit” totalling $968,000 as security at the start of the lease. The landlord requested Twitter to replenish the security deposit to its original amount, but the company disregarded the request. The report highlights that the landlord sought not only possession of the building but also the overdue rent, attorneys’ fees, and costs, as well as pre-judgment and post-judgment interest.
Notably, Twitter is also being sued by Boulder’s Avalanche Commercial Cleaning for failing to pay fees for its services. The company wants Twitter to pay around $93,500 for unpaid invoices.
The Independent points out that Twitter once employed around 300 employees in the Boulder Building, but the current strength remains unknown after Musk laid off more than half of the workforce globally. Based on a notice to the Colorado Department of Labour and Employment, Twitter laid off around 87 employees from the Boulder site with another 38 resigning in voluntarily November.
Currently, Twitter has around 2,300 active workers and several contractors, Musk revealed in a tweet in January. Before Musk’s final takeover, Twitter employed around 7,500 workers.
Musk has defended his decision to mass lay off workers and cut down on expenses to ensure Twitter’s survival. The Twitter owner, who also oversees Tesla operations, has criticised the old management for running the company like an NGO. Additionally, he points out that Twitter, under the previous management, missed out on rolling out key features that stunted the company’s growth.
Since Musk’s takeover in late October, Twitter has been experimenting with features and services to boost revenue. The company also rolled out Twitter Blue verification for Rs 900 per month o iOS and Android. The subscription provides some exclusive features, including the coveted Blue Tick on users’ profiles.
Twitter also auctioned surplus office items, including Twitter memorabilia. The company has shut down co-working spaces in India as well. Interestingly, Elon Musk is skipping office rent, since he wants to end working from home.
