Since Elon Musk took over Twitter in October, 2023, he has laid off thousands of staff, cutting the company’s workforce by more than half. In Accra, Ghana where the Africa team is based, Musk disengaged all but one employee. Now, former staffers there are seeking redress for their firing, claiming Musk violated Ghana’s labor laws. In Accra, Olumide Abimbola speaks to Carla Olympio, the lawyer taking on the case.
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Carla Olympio is a corporate lawyer and communications specialist. She is the founder and Managing Partner of Accra-based Agency Seven Seven. Educated in Ghana and the United Kingdom, Olympio acquired broad experience in law and across the varied industries of media, mining and oil and gas before setting up the Agency. The lawyer is currently leading negotiations with Twitter on behalf of former employees based in Accra.
Further readings for those who want to learn more
- The Africa Report, Google, Meta, Twitter... What Tech Giants Bring to Africa: https://www.theafricareport.
com/272845/google-meta- twitter-what-tech-giants- bring-to-africa/ - CNN, Twitter Africa Employees Accuse Elon Musk of Discrimination Over Severance Terms: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/
11/21/tech/twitter-africa- elon-musk-intl-lgs/index.html - B&FT Online, Labour Laws Must Recognise Digital Platform Workers - Fairwork Ghana: https://thebftonline.com/2022/
06/15/labour-laws-must- recognise-digital-platform- workers-fairwork-ghana/ - Quartz, Twitter Fired More Employees after Elon Musk Said Layoffs Had Ended: https://qz.com/twitter-
layoffs-2023-elon-musk- crawford-de-kuijper-1850162252 - Data Cameroon, Josiah Kwesi Eyison: « The Africa-Europe relationship needs to be symbiotic »: https://datacameroon.com/
josiah-kwesi-eyison-the- africa-europe-relationship- needs-to-be-symbiotic/ - Brookings, Africa's Youth Can Help Solve the Global Tech Talent Shortage: https://www.brookings.edu/
blog/africa-in-focus/2022/11/ 08/africas-youths-can-help- solve-the-global-tech-talent- shortage/ - Open Democracy, Facebook Lawsuit in Kenya Could Affect Big Tech Accountability Across Africa: https://www.opendemocracy.net/
en/5050/facebook-meta-sama- daniel-motaung-court-kenya/ - Giga Hamburg, How Big Tech and African Startups Are Reshaping the Continent: https://www.giga-hamburg.de/
en/publications/giga-focus/ digital-africa-how-big-tech- and-african-startups-are- reshaping-the-continent
