A former human sources boss at Twitter has accused the corporate of failing to pay roughly $500m (£385m) in severance pay owed to former workers of the corporate.

Courtney McMillian, who was the social media web site’s former “head of complete rewards”, made the declare in a class-action lawsuit.

The criticism says Twitter proprietor Elon Musk knew in regards to the severance plan earlier than he sacked 1000’s of workers.

Nevertheless it says he balked on the “expense”.

It’s the newest of a number of lawsuits filed towards the corporate over the mass firings that adopted Mr Musk’s buy of Twitter for $44bn (£34bn) final yr.

The layoffs in the end affected roughly 6,000 folks, in accordance with the lawsuit.

Beneath Twitter’s severance plan, workers had been because of obtain a minimal of two months base wage in severance and a money contribution towards medical health insurance, amongst different advantages, in accordance with the criticism filed in federal court docket in San Francisco.

These with extra senior roles, together with Ms McMillian, had been due six months base wage in severance pay, plus one week for every full yr of expertise, it says.

However workers obtained “at most” three months of pay after they had been sacked. That included one month of severance, in addition to two months value of pay to adjust to a US regulation aimed toward offering employees with discover of firings, in accordance with the criticism.

That was a “fraction” of the $500m to which workers had been entitled, it says.

Twitter, which now not has a public relations division, didn’t remark.

Mr Musk mentioned in November following a spherical of mass layoffs that workers would obtain three months value of pay, “50% greater than legally required”.

The criticism accused Mr Musk of deceptive workers about whether or not the corporate would honour the plan, main some to stay on the agency for longer than they’d have in any other case.

“Musk initially represented to workers that beneath his management Twitter would proceed to abide by the severance plan,” mentioned Kate Mueting, the lawyer from Sanford Heisler Sharp who’s representing Ms McMillian.

“He apparently made these guarantees figuring out that they had been essential to stop mass resignations that will have threatened the viability of the merger and the vitality of Twitter itself,” she added.