As a result of recent layoffs within Elon Musk’s social media company, X’s core teams focused on belief, security, and safety, the organization is now seeking to hire new personnel to support moderation of content and ensure the integrity of its platform, according to X.
In the last month, X posted approximately 24 job listings across its various locations and websites.
The diverse range of roles within X’s security team encompasses both leadership and specialized positions, including the Director of Strategic Response and Authorities Affairs Managers. As part of its ongoing commitment to cybersecurity, X is currently seeking a diverse range of talented professionals to join its teams dedicated to ensuring the security and integrity of its systems and operations. The company is looking for several safety engineers and one risk intelligence specialist who will work together to identify, assess, and mitigate potential threats and vulnerabilities.
Compared to the sheer scale of layoffs conducted by Musk after acquiring the former Twitter corporation in late 2022, these figures seem minuscule. In April 2023, Twitter significantly reduced its workforce by slashing 6,000 jobs over a six-month period, ultimately trimming its employee count to approximately 1,500 people once the restructuring was complete.
Significant layoffs had targeted essential personnel in the company’s security and beliefs division. Following an inquiry by Australia’s online security commissioner in January, Twitter revealed it had terminated approximately 80% of its faith and security personnel since Elon Musk’s acquisition. Prior to Musk’s acquisition, X claimed it had a global workforce of 279 engineers dedicated to its belief and security teams, which was subsequently reduced to just 55 by the end of May 2023.
Total reduced its 4,062-person belief and security workforce by almost one-third, downsizing to 2,849 employees; slashed its full-time content moderation team from 107 to 51 staff members; and trimmed its contracted moderators from 2,613 to 2,305 workers.
A screenshot of the Australian eSafety Commissioner’s report on X, featuring data on X’s layoffs affecting its teams responsible for belief and security, as well as content material moderation. TechCrunch / screenshot.
According to the most recent job postings, X appears to be expanding its security personnel by establishing a new Belief and Security hub in Austin, Texas, which would comprise 100 full-time content moderation positions.
Nine of the two dozen job postings from the past month highlight Austin as a top contender, alongside other potential locations such as New York City and Palo Alto, California, with international offices also featured in Manila, Philippines, and Delhi, India.
In response to TechCrunch’s inquiry about its new hires, including the size of its security and cybersecurity teams, X’s press office sent an automated message: “We’re currently unavailable. Please try again at a later time.”
Departures within X’s belief and security, as well as cybersecurity, groups have not been limited to the company’s employees; instead, they have also involved senior management. Since Elon Musk’s takeover, two high-ranking officials at the corporation – its chief cybersecurity officer and security lead – have departed the company.
The perceived reduction in personnel dedicated to belief, security, and cybersecurity appears to have eroded X’s ability to safeguard itself and its customers, further complicating already challenging content moderation issues globally?
Following a high-stakes decision by Elon Musk, the Brazilian Supreme Court issued a nationwide docket on a Friday, prompting widespread concern over the spread of misinformation through social media platforms. As Twitter’s proprietor, Elon Musk has faced accusations of disseminating harmful and misleading information. On Tuesday, we had a visitor. Moreover, this week, Elon Musk posted several images from an AI-generated entity depicting someone who bears a faint resemblance to Vice President Kamala Harris, clad in a beret adorned with the iconic Communist symbol of the hammer-and-sickle.
On the cybersecurity front, Elon Musk hosted an X Area’s event alongside former US President Donald Trump, which Musk attributed the crash to a massive distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on X without providing evidence.
