San Francisco officials are investigating a complaint that Twitter violated the city’s building code by converting part of its headquarters into bedrooms for its employees. The complaint was sparked by a Forbes report that employees had returned to work on Monday to the unexpected sight.
One source told the outlet that the beds are presumed to be for the remaining “hardcore” staffers who chose to stay after CEO Elon Musk issued an ultimatum to workers to build “Twitter 2.0.”
“It’s not a good look,” they said. “It’s yet another unspoken sign of disrespect. There is no discussion. Just like, beds showed up.”
A complaint was filed with the city’s 311 service, via Twitter.
Twitter sources estimated that there are about four to eight bedrooms per floor that feature “unmade mattresses, drab curtains and giant conference-room telepresence monitors,” Forbes reported, as well as “bright orange carpeting.”
The BBC obtained photos of the alleged illegal bedrooms in Twitter HQ. A former worker told the outlet that Musk regularly sleeps at the Twitter office since he took over the company in late October. Since then, he has fired half of Twitter’s staff and many more have chosen to leave.
San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection is seeking to inspect the headquarters at 1355 Market St. for potential code violations, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
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“We need to make sure the building is being used as intended. There are different building code requirements for residential buildings, including those being used for short-term stays. These codes make sure people are using spaces safely,” said Patrick Hannan, spokesperson for the inspection agency.
Musk appeared to confirm the validity of the complaint by targeting San Francisco Mayor London Breed for scrutinizing his company. In response to a tweet about the investigation, Musk asked Breed where the city’s priorities were, linking to a report about a 10-month-old baby who died of a fentanyl overdose.
A photo of Esther Crawford, director of product management at Twitter, snoozing in a sleeping bag at the office was posted to the platform in early November after Musk took over the company.
“When your team is pushing round the clock to make deadlines sometimes you #SleepWhereYouWork,” she wrote.
One of the Twitter sources who spoke to Forbes said employees are already working late to keep up with Musk’s expectations.
“People are already putting in late nights, so it makes sense to an extent,” the source said.
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