Twitter Is Auctioning Off Espresso Machines, Lounge Chairs, Other Employee Toys. Here’s What Else Is For Sale.

Ben ZeisloftDecember 12, 2022

Members of the public will have an opportunity to rob the graveyard of old Twitter as dismissed employees’ once-beloved espresso machines and lounge chairs are put up for auction.

The social media company will sell off kitchen equipment and furniture from its San Francisco office next month to interested buyers through Heritage Global Partners, a company that conducts auctions for downsizing businesses. As roughly two-thirds of Twitter employees depart the company and new owner Elon Musk establishes high expectations for remaining workers, those desiring to hold a piece of company history are in luck.

Items for sale include La Marzocco espresso machines and Rotisol rotisserie ovens, as well as commercial blenders and grinders, refrigerators, grills and griddles, fryers, braising pans, and pizza ovens, according to a list posted by Heritage Global Partners. Electronics and furniture available for auction include Apple computers and monitors, Google Jamboards, NEC projectors, phones and speakerphones, soft seats and furnishings, and hundreds of office chairs.

Also up for auction are a giant statue of the Twitter logo and a sculpture of the “@” symbol. The company is likewise discharging two novelty stationary bikes used to charge electronics.

Musk has made headlines for quickly pivoting the culture of the social media company away from plush amenities and toward a dogged commitment to improving the platform. Beyond the recent dismissals, the billionaire entrepreneur told remaining employees that they should expect “extremely hardcore” working hours if they desire to stay at the company. He added that the firm would become “much more engineering-driven,” implying a pivot away from “design and product management” emphases.

Although the business world has long known that the startup and venture capital sectors have lost some of their competitive grit, further evidence of excessive amenities at Twitter came in surprising forms. In the days after he acquired the company, Musk was amused to find a closet full of shirts emblazoned with the phrase “#StayWoke,” posting a brief video of the apparel that quickly went viral on social media.

The sea change in company culture at Twitter has created shock waves throughout California’s Silicon Valley. Business leaders appeared to take note as Musk dismissed most of his employees with no apparent impact on the platform’s operations. The number of new users and the amount of time spent on the site has even increased under his leadership.

“The fact that Twitter is running well with headcount down significantly really matters,” Atreides Management Chief Investment Officer Gavin Baker remarked, adding that many Silicon Valley executives begrudgingly admire Musk. He referenced an email from a venture-funded manager dismissing employees and explaining that only top performers would be permitted to keep their posts, recalling language used by Musk as he trimmed the fat from Twitter in recent weeks.

Investors have since asked their portfolio companies to make similar moves. Companies such as Lyft, DoorDash, and Amazon have announced layoffs or paused new hires in recent weeks, pointing to macroeconomic pressures and excess growth in their payrolls.

“It is a poorly kept secret in Silicon Valley that companies ranging from Google to Meta to Twitter to Uber could achieve similar levels of revenue with far fewer people,” Altimeter Capital Management CEO Brad Gerstner wrote in a recent letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “I would take it a step further and argue that these incredible companies would run even better and more efficiently without the layers and lethargy that comes with this extreme rate of employee expansion.”