'Difficult times ahead': No more remote work at Twitter, says Elon Musk

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Elon Musk arrives at the In America: An Anthology of Fashion-themed Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, New York, US, May 2, 2022.— Reuters
Elon Musk arrives at the In America: An Anthology of Fashion-themed Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, New York, US, May 2, 2022.— Reuters

Twitter chief Elon Musk sent his first email to the social media company's staff on Wednesday, warning them about "difficult times ahead" and ending the opportunity to work remotely.

According to a Bloomberg News report, Musk, who sold $3.95 billion worth of Tesla shares after he closed the $44-billion deal for Twitter, warned in his email that a "weaker economic environment" in the United States meant there would be challenges for Twitter.

Slower growth in advertising spending has been predicted for 2023 by analysts which could be detrimental for Twitter as ads account for the majority of the revenue for the firm.

The billionaire added that he could not "sugarcoat the message" about challenges. Some reports said that he had asked employees to work at least 40 hours a week with only some people allowed to work remotely. 

Managers at the tech firm have asked some of the employees to work 12-hour shifts seven days a week which is 84 hours a week, to meet the tech mogul's deadlines, Insider quoted CNBC as reporting. A few managers told the New York Times the load is so much that they have had to sleep in the office on Friday and Saturday nights.

Previously, Musk had expressed his opposition to remote work saying that only "exceptional" staff members would be allowed to do so.

“The road ahead is arduous and will require intense work to succeed,” Musk said in an email seen by Bloomberg

"Over the next few days, the absolute top priority is finding and suspending any verified bots/trolls/spam," another message had reportedly said.

Musk's chaotic management of the company is expected to affect Twitter's advertising revenue. Many companies, like carmaker Audi and insurer Allianz paused ad spending on Twitter after Musk's takeover.

Musk took to Twitter to reassure advisers and said in a public Q&A on Wednesday that he had heard their concerns.