Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, 3 other employees are suing Elon Musk for $128 million. Here’s why
Four former Twitter executives, including former CEO Parag Agarwal, have sued the company’s current chief executive, Elon Musk, for $128 million in unpaid severance payments. The former Twitter executives have claimed that Musk showed ” special ire” towards them by publicly vowing to withhold their severance payments of around $200 million when he took over the social media giant in a $44 billion deal 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.
Why is Parag Agarwal suing Elon Musk?
In a 38-page complaint filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, Agarwal’s lawyers noted (as quoted by Bloomberg), “Under Musk’s control, Twitter has become a scofflaw, stiffing employees, landlords, vendors, and others. Musk doesn’t pay his bills, believes the rules don’t apply to him, and uses his wealth and power 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 report in the New York Times, citing Twitter’s securities filing, Agarwal was entitled to an annual salary of $1 million and the top executive was also awarded $12.5 million in company stock in his offer letter. The former Twitter CEO was also entitled to a $60 million “golden parachute” payment in the event of an involuntary termination. Segal was entitled to $46 million and Gadde was entitled to $21 million under the same circumstances.
Agarwal, Gadde and other former employees had also previously sued and won a ruling from a Delaware court that ordered Twitter (now X) to pay $1.1 million in legal fees incurred while working for the social media company, Bloomberg reported.
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Published: 05 Mar 2024, 06:34 AM IST
Ganesh
http://ganesh@finplay.inFinance enthusiast, Mutual fund expert.