Updated Aug 29, 2023 - Economy

Elon Musk and X face 2,200 arbitration cases

Rebecca Falconer

Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of Twitter, Elon Musk attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre on June 16, 2023 in Paris, France. — Elon Musk at a June event in Paris, France. Photo: Chesnot/Getty Images

Elon Musk and X face more than 2,200 arbitration cases linked to sweeping changes that followed the takeover he led last year of the platform then known as Twitter, according to a court filing Monday.

Driving the news: Former Twitter employees accuse X in the filing of not paying them their promised severance after massive job cuts and delaying their arbitration cases by not paying the corresponding filing fees, per CNBC, which first reported the news.

The filing fees for those cases may amount to at least $3.5 million, CNBC notes.

Driving the news: The motion to compel arbitration was filed in the U.S. District Court in Delaware on behalf of ex-Twitter network engineer Chris Woodfield and others.

It alleges that X did not pay the fees for the plaintiffs that are required to proceed in the JAMS dispute resolution system.

Context: "For two-party matters, the Filing Fee is $2,000. For matters involving three or more parties, the filing fee is $3,500," per a statement on JAMS' website.

"For matters based on a clause or agreement that is required as a condition of employment, the employee is only required to pay $400."

The other side: Lawyers for X counter that the company didn't mandate workers to settle issues through arbitration, so it shouldn't have to cover "the larger portion of the filing fees," CNBC reports.

Representatives for X did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Go deeper: Why Elon Musk changed Twitter's name to X

Editor's note: This a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Add Axios on Google

Elon Musk and X face 2,200 arbitration cases

What to read next