Four former Twitter executives, including former CEO Parag Agarwal, have sued the company’s current CEO, Elon Musk, seeking $128 million in unpaid severance pay. Former Twitter executives claim Musk demonstrated “special ire” towards them by openly pledging to withhold their severance payments of about $200 million when he acquired the social media firm for $44 billion in 2022. In addition to Agarwal, other employees who have filed the suit include former Twitter Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal, former Twitter Head of Legal and Policy Vijaya Gadde, and former Twitter General Counsel Sean Edgett.
Agarwal had previously sued and won a Delaware court decision ordering Twitter (now X) to pay $1.1 million in
According to Bloomberg, Agarwal’s lawyers stated in a 38-page complaint filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California that “under Musk’s control, Twitter has become a scofflaw, stiffing employees, landlords, vendors, and others.” Musk does not pay his bills, believes that the rules do not apply to him, and uses his riches and position to run roughshod over anyone who disagrees with him. “He claimed in his termination letters that each Plaintiff committed ‘gross negligence’ and ‘willful misconduct’ without citing a single fact in support of this claim.” CNN cited the complaint as reading.
According to a New York Times report citing Twitter’s securities filing, Agarwal was entitled to a $1 million annual salary, as well as $12.5 million in company stock in his offer letter. The former Twitter CEO was also eligible for a $60 million “golden parachute” payment in the case of an involuntary termination. Segal was entitled to $46 million, whereas Gadde was entitled to $21 million under the identical conditions. Agarwal, Gadde, and other former workers had previously sued and won a Delaware court decision ordering Twitter (now X) to pay $1.1 million in legal fees incurred while working for the social media firm, Bloomberg said.