Latest news with #GaryRooney
Irish Times
30-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Senior X executive concedes 48-hour window for Twitter staff to decide future was ‘not ideal'
Giving Twitter staff just 48 hours to decide whether or not to accept an offer of severance contained in an email from the company's then new owner Elon Musk without knowing what the final terms would be was 'not ideal', a senior HR executive with the company conceded. Lauren Wegman, senior director of people experience at what is now called X , told the Labour Court the company was 'three to four months' away from becoming insolvent and had to move quickly. In the November 2022 Fork In the Road email, Mr Musk said staff needed to tick a box in order to sign up to a new 'hardcore' work culture at the firm or they would be deemed to have resigned their positions with the company and receive three month's pay as severance. The company is appealing awards totalling €550,131 by the Workplace Relations Commission to a former senior manager at its Dublin office, Gary Rooney, who did not tick the box and was subsequently held by Twitter to have resigned. READ MORE On Wednesday, the Labour Court heard Mr Rooney, whose severance package under the terms of the 'offer' was a little more than €20,000, had received gross pay, including share bonuses related to the company share price, of €334,114,84 during 2022. The WRC held that the time frame set out in the Musk email involved could not be considered 'reasonable notice' to allow an employee to make an informed decision on the email's contents. During Wednesday's proceedings, Ms Wegman acknowledged in response to questioning by Padraic Lyons for Mr Rooney that the lack of detail relating to severance package was 'not ideal' but that providing more comprehensive information at the time 'was not possible'. This, she said, was because the company 'three to four months' away from becoming insolvent and had to move quickly. Mr Lyons contested this, saying official company's messaging for the first two quarters of 2022 had suggested it was profitable. Ms Wegman said a variety of factors contributed to a declining financial position. When it was put to her that the time frame and options presented to employees in Mr Musk's email, including that inaction was taken to be decision to resign, had been 'arbitrary and irrational', Ms Wegman said 'it would have been nice to have a 'no' box but that wasn't part of the design'. Despite that, she said, a majority of employees had clicked the box indicating they wished to continue to working with the company ahead of the deadline and she believed the choice set out had been both reasonable and clear. While some of the way things had been done had not been 'ideal', she said, there was 'a lot of context' and it had been 'a very extraordinary time'. The process had not been 'very easy', she said, for the employer which was left with many 'gaps in terms of critical skills' and had been challenging for a HR department that had lost roughly half of its staff in the preceding weeks during which an initial round of cost cutting was implemented by the new owner. She rejected the suggestion the email represented an ultimatum to the company's roughly 4,000 remaining employees but Mr Lyons said it was 'the very definition of an ultimatum'. He put it to her it was completely unreasonable that Mr Rooney had been given 46 hours, less the time he was asleep 'to deal with this bombshell'. She said she had responded within that time frame. Responding to the suggestion Mr Rooney did not know what he might be signing up to in terms of increased workload, expectation or hours, she said his company record suggested he was a high performer. She considered herself a high performer too, she said, and had not, as a consequence, believed she had anything to fear.
Irish Independent
29-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Irish Twitter worker claims he was given ultimatum to sign up to new reality of platform, tribunal told as company challenges €550,000 payout
LATEST | The social media giant will argue that Gary Rooney made a 'conscious decision' not to click 'yes' in response to an email from Elon Musk, knowing it would lead to his resignation Today at 14:43 A former executive at Twitter has claimed that he was given an ultimatum to sign up to the new reality of Twitter 2.0, 'or not'. Gary Rooney told the Labour Court this morning that staff were worried that a famous 'fork in the road' email from Elon Musk was a phishing attempt to harm the company and were concerned that the message was not genuine.
BreakingNews.ie
17-06-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Court sets aside three days for hearing of Elon Musk's X appeal against record €550,131 award
The Labour Court has set aside three days at the end of next month to hear Elon Musk's X appeal against a ruling that it must pay out an Irish record unfair dismissal award of €550,131 to a former executive. In the ruling last August, Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) Adjudicator, Michael MacNamee found that Twitter International UC - since renamed X Internet Unlimited Company- unfairly dismissed the company's former Director Source to Pay, Gary Rooney in December 2022 after he failed to respond to Elon Musk's 'Fork in the Road' email. Advertisement Mr Rooney has yet to receive any money as the case is before the Labour Court on appeal from Twitter International UC. On Tuesday, solicitor for Mr Rooney, Barry Kenny of Kenny Sullivan Solicitors in Bray, confirmed that the case 'is listed for hearing in the Labour Court on July 29th for three days'. Mr Kenny said, 'My client is anxious to put all this all behind him.' He said: 'The WRC determined that X's treatment of him as a long-standing and loyal employee amounted to an unfair dismissal. Mr Rooney is anxious that the Labour Court will affirm this decision.' Advertisement He said: 'Mr Rooney is also hopeful that the claim under the Payment of Wages Act and his loss of income arising due to the fact that he was unfairly dismissed is also affirmed.' Mr Kenny said: 'It is open to the Labour Court to increase or reduce sums awarded in the WRC as it will be a De Novo hearing.' He said that 'X have advised that they intend to call at least three witnesses, some or all of them may be giving evidence remotely from the USA. He said: 'Mr Rooney is the only witness in his own case. ' Advertisement At the WRC, Twitter International UC fully contested Mr Rooney's claim over five days of hearing, contending that he had resigned voluntarily. In his findings, Mr MacNamee found that Mr Rooney was dismissed because he did not click 'yes' to Elon Musk's 'Fork in the Road' email on November 16th 2022 and for that reason alone. On November 16th 2022, Mr Rooney and the Twitter workforce received an email from Mr Musk who said: 'to build a breakthrough Twitter 2.0 and succeed in an increasingly competitive world, we will need to be extremely hardcore. This will mean working long hours at high intensity. Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing a grade.[....] 'If you are sure that you want to be part of the new Twitter, please click yes on the link below.' Advertisement After Mr Rooney opted not to click 'yes' on the link, three days later, on November 19th, 2022, Mr Rooney received a further company email which stated that it is 'to acknowledge your decision to resign and accept the voluntary separation offer'. On November 26th 2022, Mr Rooney - with the company since 2013 - emailed his employer to outline 'that at no time have I indicated to Twitter that I am resigning my position, nor have I seen any separation agreement, let alone accepted one'. In evidence, Mr Rooney told the WRC that prior to the change of ownership, he loved his job. On receiving Mr Musk's 'Fork in the Road' email, Mr Rooney said his first reaction was disbelief and he was initially afraid even to open it for fear that it was spam or malware. Advertisement Twitter International UC's Senior Director of Human Resources, Ms. Lauren Wegman, told the hearing that Mr Musk's 'Fork in the Road' email was sent to 270 employees in Ireland, which was the balance of workers not affected by redundancies, and 235 clicked 'yes'. In relation to the remaining 35 employees, Ms. Wegman said, 'We accepted their resignations'. Ireland Pay cap of €500,000 at AIB and PTSB removed, Finan... Read More Ms Wegman said the mood amongst workers at the time was mixed with some excited about 'Twitter 2.0' while others were more negative and wanted out of the company. The record €550,131 award was made up of Mr Rooney's remuneration losses of €350,131 from January 2023 to May 2024 and estimated future remuneration losses of €200,000. The remuneration losses were based on Mr Rooney's Twitter remuneration of €323,560 made up of €151,225 in pay and €172,335 in deferred cash consideration. Mr Rooney secured a new role with an employer in the banking sector in September 2023 on total remuneration of €129,897.
Irish Times
17-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Labour Court to hear Musk's X appeal against WRC ruling
The Labour Court has set aside three days next month to hear Elon Musk's X appeal against a ruling that it must pay out an Irish record unfair dismissal award of €550,131 to a former executive. In the ruling last August, Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) Adjudicator, Michael MacNamee found that Twitter International UC - since renamed X Internet Unlimited Company- unfairly dismissed the company's former Director Source to Pay, Gary Rooney, in December 2022 after he failed to respond to Elon Musk's 'Fork in the Road' email. Mr Rooney has yet to receive any of the monies as moneyse is before the Labour Court on appeal from Twitter International UC. Solicitor for Mr Rooney, Barry Kenny of Kenny Sullivan Solicitors in Bray, confirmed that the case 'is listed for hearing in the Labour Court on July 29th for three days'. READ MORE [ Twitter ordered to pay record €550,000 to senior executive in Ireland Opens in new window ] Mr Kenny said 'My client is anxious to put all this all behind him.' 'The WRC determined that X's treatment of him as a long standing and loyal employee amounted to an unfair dismissal. Mr Rooney is anxious that the Labour Court will affirm this decision. 'Mr Rooney is also hopeful that the claim under the Payment of Wages Act and his loss of income arising due to the fact that he was unfairly dismissed is also affirmed,' he said. At the WRC, Twitter International UC fully contested Mr Rooney's claim over five days of hearing contending that he had resigned voluntarily. In his original findings, Mr MacNamee found that Mr Rooney was dismissed because he did not click 'yes' to Elon Musk's 'Fork in the Road' email on November 16th 2022 and for that reason alone. Three days after Mr Rooney opted not to click 'yes' on the link, on November 19th, 2022, Mr Rooney received a further company email which stated that it is 'to acknowledge your decision to resign and accept the voluntary separation offer'. The record €550,131 award was made up of Mr Rooney's remuneration losses of €350,131 from January 2023 to May 2024 and estimated future remuneration losses of €200,000. He secured a new role with an employer in the banking sector in September 2023 on total remuneration of €129,897. 'It is open to the Labour Court to increase or reduce sums awarded in the WRC as it will be a De Novo hearing,' Mr Kenny said. He added that 'X have advised that they intend to call at least three witnesses, some or all of them may be giving evidence remotely from the USA. 'Mr Rooney is the only witness in his own case,' Mr Kenny said.
Otago Daily Times
05-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Recognition thought to be a hoax
Timaru Mayor Nigel Bowen (left) and businessman Gary Rooney officially open Fraser Park. PHOTO: CONNOR HALEY Waimate's Gary Rooney was so surprised to be included in the King's Birthday Honours List he thought it was all a hoax. The well-known businessman was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (for services to business and philanthropy). "I thought it was a joke, a hoax email," he said. "I feel extremely privileged, I certainly did not expect this at all. We just work quietly behind the scenes to better the communities we are present in." Mr Rooney started his earthmoving business in 1976 with a single bulldozer. "I wanted to be a farmer and buy a farm and the only way to do that was by being a contractor. "We bought a farm, then had to continue to be a contractor to pay the interest and it's been a lifetime of hard work to be where we are today." The Rooney Group now employs more than 300 people across multiple divisions including earthmoving, pipe and cable laying, transportation and farming. His work in irrigation scheme construction has made a significant impact, including the Rangitata South scheme which irrigates 13,000ha on the South Canterbury plains. He encourages natural fauna regeneration and has pioneered the development of a rock fish screen, designed to prevent salmon smolt from entering irrigation schemes. He has been a driving force behind numerous transformative community projects in the region, including the $8million redevelopment of Timaru's Fraser Park and the revitalisation of Waimate, including investment in a medical centre and the restoration of Quinn's Arcade. He has supported the local foodbank with three months of funding and has set up several scholarships for young athletes. After the Christchurch earthquakes, his support was integral in the design and build of the new gymnasium and other facilities at Timaru's Craighead Diocesan School. "What motivates me is watching people and communities grow, it's important to give back to the community. "I'm very grateful to a number of people and staff," he said.
