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A federal judge has ruled against Elon Musk’s bid to avoid severance payments to former Twitter executives, including ex-CEO Parag Agrawal.
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The executives claim Musk deliberately terminated them to avoid contractual payouts, with Agrawal entitled to a $60 million “golden parachute” payment ¹.
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The ruling clears the way for Agrawal and others to pursue their claims for compensation, adding to the growing list of legal disputes Musk faces concerning employee compensation.
A federal judge has dealt a blow to Elon Musk’s attempts to avoid paying severance to former Twitter executives. The ruling, made by US District Judge Maxine Chesney, allows ex-CEO Parag Agrawal and other executives to pursue their claims for compensation. According to court filings, Musk’s decision to terminate the executives immediately after acquiring Twitter was aimed at denying them substantial severance payments ¹[2).
The case centers around Musk’s move to fire Agrawal, along with former Twitter executives Vijaya Gadde, Ned Segal, and Sean Edgett. The executives argue that Musk’s actions were designed to avoid contractual payouts, with Agrawal entitled to a $60 million “golden parachute” payment ¹. This case is just one of many legal disputes Musk faces concerning employee compensation following his acquisition of Twitter.
Musk’s aggressive restructuring of Twitter, now rebranded as X Corp, has led to the dismissal of thousands of employees. Many have filed claims for unpaid severance, arguing that Musk failed to honor compensation agreements established before the acquisition. While Musk and X Corp won a $500 million class-action lawsuit in July, other cases have tilted in employees’ favor ¹.
