Twitter boss Jack Dorsey gives away part of stake to workers shortly after layoffs

Twitter boss Jack Dorsey has given away a third of his stake in the social media company to its employees. The 38-year-old chief executive said the giveaway was an effort to invest in the firm's workers.

The stake, accounting for 1% of the firm's total listed value, is worth around $200m (£130m, €180m). It is just one in a series of big moves by Dorsey since he was officially reinstated as permanent CEO of the firm.

"I'm giving [around a third] of my Twitter stock (exactly 1% of the company) to our employee equity pool to reinvest directly in our people," Dorsey tweeted.

"As for me: I'd rather have a smaller part of something big than a bigger part of something small. I'm confident we can make Twitter big!"

The move has been welcomed by many as the Twitter boss is connected to the firm and is very active himself on the platform. However, some have criticised the move, arguing that the timing, shortly after the company laid off 8% of the work force, is suspicious. One person accused Dorsey of "fixing a morale problem".

Most people seemed to appreciate the move, many sending Dorsey messages of support. Twitter is undergoing a restructure to streamline the firm, which is struggling to expand its user base. Recently, Instagram overtook the platform in terms of members and with social media platforms being launched almost every day from Sillicon Valley, investors are looking for fast growing firms.