Elon Musk and his company X have agreed to a settlement with former employees. The workers had sued the firm for $500 million in unpaid severance.
The settlement was revealed in a court filing on Wednesday. Both sides asked the San Francisco appeals court to delay an upcoming hearing. They said more time was needed to complete the paperwork.
Dispute followed sweeping job cuts
The lawsuit began after Musk dismissed about 6,000 workers in 2022. That number represented more than half of the company’s staff. Many of those affected challenged the severance offered.
Lawyers for the staff and representatives of X have not yet commented.
Court records confirmed a settlement in principle had been reached. They also noted ongoing talks to finalize the agreement.
Terms remain undisclosed
The details of the deal have not been made public. Any final version will still require court approval.
Former employee Courtney McMillian led the class action. She argued thousands of workers were denied benefits promised under the severance plan.
The case claimed employees should have received up to six months of pay. Instead, most received one month or less. Some got nothing.
Musk’s cuts reshaped the platform
The layoffs dismantled key teams such as trust and safety, human rights, and media relations. Musk’s decision became one of the first major job reductions in the tech sector’s cost-cutting wave.
Other companies soon followed. Google, Microsoft, and Facebook later announced tens of thousands of job cuts. These came after years of heavy hiring during the pandemic’s digital surge.
Similar strategy in government role
Earlier this year, Musk briefly led President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. The agency was tasked with reducing spending and cutting jobs. Musk followed the same path there, overseeing thousands of federal layoffs.
