Twitter Inc. is facing another lawsuit over its recent layoff of half of its workforce, accusing the social media company of disproportionately targeting female employees for layoffs.
A class-action lawsuit filed late Wednesday in San Francisco federal court says that after the takeover of Twitter by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk fired 57 percent of its female employees compared to 47 percent of its male employees.
Twitter laid off about 3,700 employees in early November in a cost-cutting move by Musk, and hundreds have since resigned.
The gender disparity was even starker for engineering roles, where 63 percent of women lost their jobs compared to 48 percent of men, according to the new lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed by two women who were fired by Twitter last month, accused the company of violating federal and California laws prohibiting sex discrimination in the workplace.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Shannon Lees Riordan said that when Musk took over the company, the women “had a target on his back,” regardless of their talents and contributions.
Liss-Riordan represents current and former Twitter employees in three other pending lawsuits filed in the same court since last month.
The cases include various claims that Twitter fired employees and contractors without notice as required by law, failed to pay its obligations, and that Musk refused to allow disabled workers to work remotely.
At least three employees in the United States have filed separate lawsuits against Twitter. filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging retaliation for advocating for better working conditions.
Twitter has denied wrongdoing in the earlier notice lawsuit and has not responded to the other complaints.
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