‘Companies facing bankruptcy do this’: Internet irate after Elon Musk led-Twitter reportedly slashed parental leaves

Twitter CEO Elon Musk has been implementing various changes to the platform and policies since taking over the company last year. The latest change that has caused an uproar among employees and the public is the reduction of paid parental leave from 20 weeks to just 14 days for those employees who work in states in the US that do not have a paid leave policy. The information was revealed through internal company documents cited by the New York Post.

The reduction in paid parental leave has received severe criticism from many quarters. As per a report in the New York Post, there is no federal law in the United States mandating paid parental leave. However, the Family and Medical Leave Act allows for "unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons'' for up to 12 weeks for certain employees. Additionally, 12 states provide paid family and medical leave of some kind. California allows up to eight weeks of paid leave under state law, while both New York and New Jersey permit up to 26 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in addition to 12 weeks of paid leave.

Many Twitter users expressed their disappointment and frustration at the reduction of paid parental leave. Some accused the company of breaching an acquisition deal that protected benefits for one year after close. Others pointed out that reducing the leave will have a significant impact on new mothers who need time to rest, recover, and spend time with their newborns. Several users argued that the reduction of paid parental leave will contribute to the gender pay gap as women will have to choose between returning to work after two weeks or taking a long, unpaid break from work.

Some users also questioned the logic behind reducing paid parental leave, especially at a time when there is a global concern about declining birthrates. One user commented, "You can't be obsessed with declining birthrates and then incentivise your employees to not have children." Another user accused the company of making the decision due to financial troubles, saying, "Only a company facing bankruptcy does this."

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