Elon Musk and his company X have agreed to a settlement with former staff. The employees had sued for $500 million in unpaid severance.
The agreement appeared in a court filing on Wednesday. Both sides asked the San Francisco appeals court to delay a hearing. They said more time was needed to finish the paperwork.
Dispute triggered by mass layoffs
The lawsuit followed Musk’s decision in 2022 to cut about 6,000 jobs. That accounted for more than half of the workforce. Many of those dismissed took legal action over the severance packages.
So far, X representatives and the employees’ lawyers have not commented publicly.
Court documents confirmed a settlement in principle. They also showed both parties are negotiating the final agreement.
Settlement details remain secret
The exact terms have not been disclosed. The deal must still be approved by the courts.
Former employee Courtney McMillian led the case. She argued thousands of workers were denied promised benefits under the severance plan.
The lawsuit said staff should have received up to six months of pay. Instead, most got only one month. Some received nothing.
Job cuts reshaped company structure
The layoffs dismantled entire teams, including trust and safety, human rights, and media relations. Musk’s actions became one of the first large-scale cost-cutting moves in the tech industry.
Other giants soon acted. Google, Facebook, and Microsoft each laid off tens of thousands of staff. These cuts followed years of heavy hiring during the pandemic’s digital surge.
Musk mirrored strategy in public office
Earlier this year, Musk briefly headed President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. The agency was tasked with cutting costs and reducing jobs. Musk used the same strategy there, overseeing thousands of federal dismissals.
