X (formerly Twitter) is demanding $1500-$70,000 from fired employees — they say they were overpaid

Elon Musk’s X Corp (formerly Twitter) is demanding money from at least six Australians who were previously fired. The company claims that it accidentally overpaid them. Sydney Morning Herald newspaper saidX is threatening to sue some former Australian employees after they incorrectly converted currency from US dollars to Australian dollars.

The emails sent by X’s Asia Pacific HR department to the dismissed employees state that a significant amount of money was mistakenly overpaid in January 2023. The overpayments ranged from $1500 to $70,000 per employee. So far, none of the former employees have returned the money. Currently, one Australian dollar is worth $0.67.

The company stated that the overpayment was related to «deferred cash compensation» in the form of shares issued to employees when they joined Twitter. These shares were valued at $54.20 (AU$82) each. The total number of shares held by an employee was based on the length of their tenure with the company. It is reported that X made currency conversion errors. The company made payments at a price that is 2.5 times the value of the shares.

X asked the dismissed employees to return the money as soon as possible and said that the company reserves the right to seek the money and interest in court, the report says.

Employment law specialist Hayden Stevens says that employees can be forced to return the money, but they have the right to first ask X to clearly explain how the mistake occurred and request documentary evidence. According to Australian labor law, if there is a genuine mistake, there is an obligation to return the money.

Overpaying fired employees is the opposite of what happened to many of X’s former employees in the United States. The company received lawsuits and arbitration claims from about 2,000 former employees fighting for severance pay. According to court documents, settlement negotiations in several cases ended without a deal.

X is also facing a lawsuit from four former Twitter executives who claim they were cheated out of more than $128 million in severance pay when Musk fired them immediately after buying the company. The lawsuit was filed by former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, former CFO Ned Segal, former Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde, and former General Counsel Sean Edgett. The plaintiffs have proposed a trial date of November 2025. Musk also refused to pay many of Twitter’s suppliers after taking over, leading to a flood of lawsuits demanding compensation.

Source: Ars Technica