A California federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit accusing X, the social media service previously known as Twitter, of age-discrimination during mass layoffs after Elon Musk’s acquisition will proceed. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston determined that the plaintiff, John Zeman, provided enough evidence to support claims that the layoffs disproportionately affected older employees. Zeman alleges that X laid off 60% of workers over 50 and nearly three-quarters of those over 60, compared to 54% of younger employees. While Judge Illston dismissed a claim of intentional targeting of older workers, she allowed Zeman a month to amend the lawsuit to further substantiate that claim.
Shannon Liss-Riordan, Zeman’s lawyer, expressed that the court’s decision validates their discrimination claims. X, which is now facing around a dozen lawsuits related to layoffs following Musk’s acquisition, did not provide a comment on the matter. The legal cases include various claims, such as inadequate advance notice for layoffs and allegations of wrongful treatment of employees with disabilities by Musk.
At least two lawsuits against X assert that the company owes former employees a total of $500 million in severance pay. Twitter, the parent company of X, denies any wrongdoing in these cases. Liss-Riordan is also representing approximately 2,000 former Twitter employees who have filed similar claims against the company in arbitration.
The lawsuit adds to the legal challenges surrounding Elon Musk’s corporate decisions, raising questions about worker rights and treatment during company transformations.