[opjjf]

I would guess it's not just data engineering but a big part of the engineering org. Or why would you single out such a team?

[mikkergp]

It’s a vague term so I wasn’t sure what they did but if your goal is less moderation, maybe you assume you don’t need “data engineers”

[nkassis]

He seems to disagree with their conclusions based on gut feelings.

[raarts]

Maybe these were the people counting the bots?

[dekhn]

This group almost certainly was producing all the metrics that Musk didn't like to look at.

The morale-meter at the company must be negative at this point.

[ebrescia]

That would be my gut - he felt like they weren't getting the data they needed. If he's doing layoffs/firing that quickly, he's most certainly doing it to make a point to the rest of the company. That's the only reason you would do something like that that fast. Not endorsing it or weighing either way. Just stating the facts.