Twitter's Singapore landlord says avian network still a tenant, despite eviction reports

This time last year the plan was for lots more hires. Then came Elon

Twitter's Singapore landlord says the social network is still a tenant at its swank Asia Pacific (APAC) headquarters, as rumors suggest the company was evicted for non-payment of rent.

"Twitter has been a tenant of CapitaGreen since 2015, and it remains a tenant of CapitaGreen," a spokesperson from the building's developer, Capitaland, told The Register on a Thursday phone call.

Reports of the eviction appeared on Thursday, some stating that Twitter employees were walked out of its Singapore office early in the morning – perhaps even between 6:00 and 7:00 AM – because the rent hadn't been paid.

Some reports detail employees of the avian network receiving an internal memo on Wednesday night instructing them to clear their desks and work from home until further notice.

Others have reported that staff already work from home, but the office remains open.

Did a bit of chasing on this. My source says as of yesterday afternoon Twitter's Singapore staff are WFH, but they were not "walked out" by landlords. Building's reception says Twitter's office is still open but we were not able gain access to the floor to confirm this in person. https://t.co/amUoWqRgTV

— Peter Hoskins (@PeterHoskinsTV) January 12, 2023

The controversy-generating site launched its 22,000 square foot Singapore office and APAC HQ, designed by architecture firm Woods Bagot, in 2015.

At the start of 2022, Twitter announced expansion plans for the Singapore outpost.

However, upon Elon Musk's $44 billion takeover, the direction of the APAC office seemed to change abruptly. The opening of an enlarged office space was cancelled the night before a planned event.

Jobs have been cut, too: just last week the head of site integrity for APAC and the senior director of revenue policy were let go.

"Workers on teams handling the social network's misinformation policy, global appeals and state media on the platform were also eliminated," reported Singapore news outlet The Straits Times.

Accusations of Musk's Folly not paying rent elsewhere have emerged in the recent past. A lawsuit from Twitter's San Francisco landlord filed at the end of December claimed the platform was in the red by over $136,000.

In mid-December, The New York Times reported the bird had not paid rent at any of its global offices – nor for some private chartered flights – for weeks. Subsequent reports from the Times alleged cost-cutting measures such as a datacenter being shut off, janitors and security guards being let go, and workers forced to bring in their own toilet paper.

The Register has sought comment from Twitter and will update this story if we receive substantive information, but as the microblogging service has reportedly ditched many communications staff we don't hold out much hope for a response. ®