Two people familiar with the company told Business Insider that the headcount is “much lower” than the 1,500 employees CEO Elon Musk had told BBC News remained on staff, particularly when excluding remaining contract workers. 

The billionaire did not specify whether his total included such employees. 

The outlet said getting closer to 1,000 means Twitter's workforce is down by nearly 90% from just before Musk took over earlier this year.

Hundreds of workers had left before layoffs, and Business Insider said there are now about 500 engineers left at the company.

A former employee told the outlet that “performance reviews are constant,” with those who remain scrambling to meet changing demands and putting out fires.

People familiar with the matter also said frequent firings follow weekly employee reviews with little to no explanation given.