The tech world watched in disbelief as Twitter underwent a dramatic transformation in late 2022. Following Elon Musk’s acquisition, the company experienced mass layoffs, policy upheavals, and a seismic shift in workplace culture. For those in the early stages of their engineering careers, understanding these events provides crucial lessons about the industry’s volatility, the importance of adaptability, and the skills that remain valuable even amidst chaos. While the 2022 Twitter Early Career Engineering Coding Challenge may have seemed like a distant opportunity during this period of uncertainty, the underlying principles of resilience, technical proficiency, and career navigation became more critical than ever.
In early November 2022, just days after Musk finalized the Twitter purchase, approximately half of Twitter’s staff – around 3,700 individuals – were laid off. This unprecedented speed and scale of cuts sent shockwaves through the tech community. Reports emerged of employees working around the clock, only to be abruptly dismissed with minimal communication or empathy. Tech journalists like Casey Newton and Zoë Schiffer detailed the chaotic process, highlighting the abruptness and seeming randomness of the decisions.
The layoffs appeared indiscriminate, affecting even engineers who had recently delivered critical projects under pressure. Conversely, some who anticipated termination retained their positions. Initial reports suggested seniority offered some protection, with senior and above engineers in Europe largely spared, and staff-and-above roles similarly treated in the US. However, the lack of clear criteria amplified the confusion and anxiety.
Adding to the disarray, Twitter swiftly began contacting some laid-off employees to return, sometimes within 24 hours of their dismissal. These callbacks, often for roles requiring specialized expertise like iOS and Android engineering, came with stringent deadlines, reportedly as short as ten minutes for a decision. Many engineers, facing a lack of clarity and demonstrating solidarity with those impacted, declined these offers. This disorganized recall effort underscored the hasty and poorly planned nature of the initial layoffs, suggesting a failure to adequately assess the expertise necessary to maintain Twitter’s operations.
The immediate aftermath of the layoffs was marked by operational challenges. Managers struggled to ascertain their remaining team members, resorting to technical checks like LDAP queries to identify active accounts. Engineers found themselves on-call for unfamiliar systems, only to discover that the original teams responsible for those systems were no longer employed. Communication breakdowns were evident, with newly assigned managers in different time zones scheduling meetings at inconvenient hours for their European teams.
Predictably, the initial layoffs triggered a wave of resignations. Experienced engineers, particularly principal engineers with long tenures and deep institutional knowledge, began leaving voluntarily. The exodus of senior talent, coupled with the chaotic layoffs, raised concerns about Twitter’s ability to maintain its complex infrastructure and continue innovating. The resignation of key executives, including the Chief Information Security Officer, Chief Privacy Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer, further signaled the extent of the turmoil.
The complexity of Twitter’s architecture became a central concern. Long-time engineers emphasized that Twitter’s infrastructure, while intricate, was designed for rapid iteration and feature deployment. However, fundamental architectural changes were known to be challenging and required careful planning. The introduction of Kubernetes on Twitter’s on-premise data centers was already described as a significant undertaking. The depth of configurability within Twitter’s infrastructure, including multi-level feature flags at the infrastructure layer, was also highlighted as a unique and potentially vulnerable aspect given the staff reductions.
Despite the engineering team reductions, Elon Musk publicly announced ambitious plans for new features, including long-form messages (internally known as Notes) and improved search functionality. These features, reportedly in advanced stages of development, were ironically jeopardized by the very layoffs that had occurred. The director inquiring about the launch feasibility of “Notes” was informed that the teams essential for its deployment – backend, iOS, and Android engineers, as well as the engineering manager – were largely gone. This disconnect between public announcements and internal realities underscored the disorganized nature of the changes.
Cost-cutting became the dominant priority for remaining engineering teams outside of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters. Initiatives included data center consolidation, with plans to potentially shut down one of three operating data centers, and significant reductions in Google Cloud spending.
A dramatic shift in management structure also emerged. Engineering managers who remained, primarily at level L6 and below, were instructed to become individual contributors, expected to code 20% of their time while managing teams expanded to 20 or more reports. This drastic increase in span of control, coupled with coding responsibilities, was unprecedented in the tech industry. Concerns arose about manager burnout and the potential for superficial coding efforts to meet new mandates, rather than genuine contributions. Some managers openly acknowledged the limitations of their capacity to support their reports under these new conditions.
Adding to the upheaval, Elon Musk mandated an immediate return to full-time in-office work, reversing Twitter’s previous permanent work-from-home policy and disregarding existing remote work agreements. This abrupt reversal caused significant internal resistance, particularly among employees hired under remote work contracts. The HR department was reportedly unprepared for this policy shift, scrambling to formalize and communicate the new requirements. Internal legal perspectives suggested employees might not be obligated to comply immediately, further highlighting the chaotic and potentially legally fraught nature of the changes.
Amidst the widespread departures and uncertainty, some individuals saw opportunities. Examples emerged of employees embracing the chaos, with some taking on expanded roles and responsibilities. A Director of Product publicly showcased her commitment by sleeping in the office, becoming a visible figure in the new regime. A staff engineer was promoted to manage a large team without prior management experience, signaling a prioritization of technical skills.
Reflecting on the rapid and disruptive changes at Twitter, it became evident that Musk’s objective was a drastic workforce reduction, potentially aiming for the 75% headcount cut initially discussed. The layoffs, combined with policies designed to encourage voluntary attrition, pointed toward this goal. However, this aggressive approach carried significant risks. Concerns mounted about potential service outages due to loss of expertise and engineers working on unfamiliar systems without adequate support.
While drawing parallels to his management styles at Tesla and SpaceX, both hardware-centric companies, the applicability of this approach to a pure software company like Twitter remained questionable. The lack of a similarly unifying and inspiring mission at Twitter, compared to Tesla’s electric vehicle revolution or SpaceX’s space exploration ambitions, further differentiated the context.
The events at Twitter in late 2022 serve as a stark reminder of the tech industry’s dynamic and sometimes turbulent nature. For early career engineers navigating their professional paths – perhaps even considering challenges like the 2022 Twitter Early Career Engineering Coding Challenge in a different, more stable era – the lessons are profound. Adaptability, resilience, and a commitment to continuous learning are paramount. The Twitter situation underscored the value of deep technical expertise, the importance of understanding complex systems, and the ability to navigate organizational change, even when that change is disruptive and unsettling. As the industry evolves, these skills, honed through challenges and experiences, will be crucial for long-term success, regardless of the specific company or coding challenge encountered.
