Twitter workers flee after Elon Musk's "hardcore" ultimatum

Twitter continued to bleed engineers and other workers, after new owner Elon Musk gave them an ultimatum: Either pledge to "hardcore" work or resign with severance pay by 5 p.m. Eastern on Thursday. Many have opted for the latter.

Some took to Twitter to announce they were signing off after Musk's deadline to make the pledge. A number of employees took to a private forum outside of the company's messaging board to discuss their planned departure, asking questions about how it might jeopardize their U.S. visas or if they would get the promised severance pay, according to an employee fired earlier this week who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

Hundreds of Twitter employees took Musk up on his offer to leave with severance pay, according to The New York Times, although the exact number isn't clear. The newest round of departures means the platform is continuing to lose workers just at it is gearing up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, one of the busiest events on Twitter that can overwhelm its systems if things go haywire.