Yaccarino shakes up X amid Musk’s pressure on costs, FT says

(Reuters) – The chief executive of social media platform X, Linda Yaccarino, has shaken up her inner circle in the face of pressure from owner Elon Musk to boost sales and cut costs, the Financial Times said on Sunday.

This month Yaccarino fired her right-hand man and head of business operations and communications, Joe Benarroch, the newspaper said, citing three people familiar with the matter.

X did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment on the report.

Before joining X, then known as Twitter, in June 2023, Benarroch worked at Comcast (NASDAQ:)’s NBCUniversal, where he oversaw communication strategy for its advertising and partnerships division, reporting to Yaccarino, who was advertising chief there.

X’s head of global government affairs, Nick Pickles will take over Benarroch’s responsibilities, with an expanded role including directing all global communications, the FT said.

The reshuffle stems from growing tensions between Musk and Yaccarino, as she struggles to steady X’s financial health, according to the report.

Steve Davis, a longstanding Musk ally and chief executive of his Boring Company, was brought in by the billionaire in April to review X’s finances and performance management, FT added.