Fired Twitter cleaning staff 'treated like garbage'

Cleaners astatine Twitter's office successful San Francisco person told the BBC they were sacked without severance pay.

One of them told the BBC a subordinate of Elon Musk's squad had said their jobs would beryllium replaced by robots.

A California authorities legislator said Mr Musk was treating the erstwhile unit "like garbage".

San Francisco's metropolis attorney, David Chiu, said he's investigating if Mr Musk broke the law. Twitter has not responded to a BBC petition for comment.

"Elon Musk has had a agelong past of flouting labour laws," Mr Chiu told the BBC.

"While I'm not amazed this happened, I consciousness for these workers. We volition beryllium looking into this further."

The BBC spoke to 4 cleaners who accidental they were fired from Twitter connected Monday - their interviews were conducted successful Spanish.

Adrianna Villarreal, who worked for Twitter for 4 years, said she's present disquieted she won't person capable wealth to provender her household implicit Christmas.

"It's a bittersweet and frustrating happening for our families and children," she said.

The cleaners were moving astatine Twitter past week until they were told their jobs were nether threat.

Olga Miranda, president of the cleaners' union, said they organised a onslaught connected Monday to protest. The cleaners were past told they had been laid disconnected effectual immediately, she says.

"They did this 3 weeks earlier Christmas," she said. "I deliberation we were fired due to the fact that we're a union."

Julio Alvarado has been a cleaner for 10 years astatine Twitter. He says the situation was ever affable during his clip with the company.

But helium says things changed erstwhile Mr Musk took implicit Twitter successful October.

"People worked without worries," helium told the BBC. "Now we are afraid."

Since Mr Musk acquired the company, Mr Alvarado says helium was escorted by backstage information portion cleaning parts of the office.

He besides says helium was told by idiosyncratic from Mr Musk's squad that his occupation would beryllium obsolete soon anyhow due to the fact that robots would yet regenerate quality cleaners.

Without his job, Mr Alvarado says he's disquieted astir paying his bills. He besides says he's supporting his household backmost successful Mexico.

"I tin lone archer you, I don't person wealth to wage the rent," helium says. "I'm not going to person aesculapian insurance. I don't cognize what I'm going to do."

Juana Laura Chavero Ramirez said she had worked for 5 years astatine Twitter. A diabetic, she's acrophobic she won't beryllium capable to get her medication.

"It's conscionable horrible," she said. "We're not lone losing our job, we're losing our income."

Adrianna Villarreal, who's worked astatine Twitter since 2018, said she was disquieted she would not beryllium capable to spend Christmas gifts for her children.

"We are expected to person Christmas presents for our children," she said, "a sheet of nutrient connected our array and overnight we don't person anything."

The cleaners accidental they don't cognize what to bash - arsenic determination are fewer disposable cleaning vacancies successful San Francisco astatine the moment.

A tiny radical of cleaners person protested extracurricular San Francisco's Twitter office since Monday.

California authorities legislator Scott Wiener told the BBC the cleaners had been treated "horribly".

"In the abbreviated term, I'd similar to spot him [Elon Musk] dainty his janitors similar quality beings," said Mr Wiener, "and get them backmost moving - not conscionable propulsion them retired close earlier Christmas."