Elon Musk and his social media company X have reached a preliminary settlement with former employees who claimed they were owed $500 million in severance pay.
The agreement was disclosed in a joint filing with a San Francisco appeals court on Wednesday, where both sides asked for a delay in proceedings to finalise settlement terms.
The lawsuit, led by ex-employee Courtney McMillian, alleged that around 6,000 workers were denied benefits promised under Twitter’s severance plan after Musk’s takeover in 2022.
Plaintiffs said they were entitled to up to six months of salary and other benefits, but most received only a single month’s pay, while some received nothing at all.
The mass layoffs, which cut more than half of Twitter’s workforce, dismantled key teams across trust and safety, media, and human rights.
These cuts were among the earliest in a wave of downsizing across the tech industry following heavy hiring during the pandemic.
Companies such as Meta, Google, and Microsoft later also reduced staff in large numbers.
Terms of the settlement remain confidential and will require court approval before being finalised.