Elon Musk’s plans for Twitter Inc. involve slashing its staff by nearly 75 per cent in a matter of months, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post.

Musk, whose US$44 billion purchase of the social network is set to close by Oct. 28, would reduce Twitter’s staff to just more than 2,000 people, compared with the 7,500 it currently employs, the Post reported, citing Musk’s comments to prospective investors. Musk had told investors he planned to shrink staff in his initial pitch to bankers for funding, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg in April.

The billionaire, also chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., earlier this month said he would follow through with his agreement to take Twitter private, ending a months-long court battle over the deal. Even if Musk doesn’t end up owning Twitter, the company would need to trim its workforce to cut costs, according to the Post.