Twitter Responds to French Communications Regulator Question by Deadline

Twitter met a Thursday deadline to respond to France’s communications regulator on whether the company can meet its legal obligations, a spokeswoman for the regulator said.

Arcom posted a letter on Monday on Twitter asking if it could meet its legal obligation to ensure transparency despite drastic job cuts at the company.

“Twitter has responded to our letter,” said an Arcom spokesperson. “We will analyze their response. The discussion is ongoing.”

A few days ago, it was reported that the head of Twitter’s French operations, Damien Viel, said he was leaving the social network, whose new owner Elon Musk recently fired top management and forced job cuts at the company.

“It’s over,” Viel tweeted on Sunday, thanking his French team, which he has led for the past seven years.

Viel confirmed he was leaving Twitter in a separate message to Reuters.

He did not elaborate on the circumstances of his departure and declined to say how many people were employed by Twitter in France before or after Musk took over the company last month.

Labor laws in France prevent companies from firing full-time workers overnight. Companies based in France must formally notify employees of their intended layoffs in advance of their plans, usually by letter acknowledging receipt.

They must also respect certain notice periods, depending on the nature of the dismissal and the size of the workforce.

For dismissals affecting several employees within 30 days, companies must also follow certain procedures, including notifying employees, employee representatives and the human resources department.

This means that the whole process takes at least a few weeks and up to a few months.

A Twitter spokeswoman in France has not responded to messages seeking comment since Musk was hired in October.

© Thomson Reuters 2022