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“X” Didn’t Pay Severance. Now It’s Facing 2,200 Cases—and Big Fees

X is not, in fact, gonna give it to ya.

ARIANNA COGHILL

Elon Musk’s alleged penchant for not paying bills is catching up with him. In the wake of numerous lawsuits claiming the world’s richest man failed to pay severance owed to many of the 6,000 employees he fired after acquiring Twitter. On Monday, CNBC reported that the tech company now known as X is facing some 2,200 arbitration cases filed by ex-employees, which come with $3.5 million in required fees—an amount that doesn’t even include the actual severance owed to those Musk let go.

In October, shortly after taking Twitter’s reins, Musk laid off more than half of its employees, promising most at least two months’ salary plus a week’s pay for every year they’d worked at the firm. Thousands claim that they haven’t received a single dime, and ex-employees have since filed several lawsuits seeking their promised benefits.

One of these suits, filed earlier this year, invokes an arbitration clause in employees’ contracts that, according to Mashable, leaves Musk’s company on the hook for $1,600 in arbitration fees per two-party case, but only requires that former employees pay $400. With over 2,000 cases, the social media network’s arbitration bill alone comes in at nearly $4 million. 

X has reportedly refused to pay those bills, either—arguing that it hasn’t required the former employees to move their disputes to arbitration. Now, ex-staffers have filed another lawsuit demanding the company pay the fees associated with their original filing. 

The news falls in line with other accusations piling up against Musk. Since the tech multibillionaire’s acquisition, the social media juggernaut has been embroiled in countless legal battles, many stemming from alleged failures to pay its bills. Several have been resolved or dropped, but in February alone, the company was struck with at least six non-payment lawsuits. In late June, an Australian infrastructure firm sued X for nonpayment of a $600,000-plus bill for work in Twitter’s offices. And several landlords have taken the company to court for failing to pay rent on multiple offices, including in Boston, Seattle, and Oakland.