X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, revealed that the company’s product team consists of only 30 core members in a recent post. Bier cited this as the reason behind X’s decision to eliminate its dim mode feature, explaining that the team lacks the capacity to support more than two colors at the moment. He mentioned plans to adjust the black color on the web. Comparing X’s team size to major industry players, Bier highlighted the stark difference: “Meta: 87,000, Microsoft: 221,000, Google: 190,000 … X: 30.” Additionally, he announced job openings for engineers in Palo Alto, emphasizing the streamlined communication within the team.
In response to concerns raised by X users about how a global platform could be managed by such a small team, Elon Musk intervened in the discussion on X. Musk clarified that approximately 30 engineers from xAI, his artificial intelligence company, are dedicated to working on X’s AI-based recommendation system in support of the core product team.
Elon Musk acquired Twitter in 2022 for around $44 billion and subsequently downsized the workforce from about 7,500 employees to roughly 1,500 by 2023, marking an estimated 80% reduction. Under Musk’s leadership, the platform underwent significant changes, rebranding as X and introducing new monetization and verification systems as part of a strategic shift towards subscriptions and creator-focused content.
