Twitter is pausing most hiring and backfills, except for business critical roles, a spokesperson on Thursday confirmed to Axios. It's also pulling back on non-labor costs "to ensure we are being responsible and efficient."

Why it matters: The decisions were made by Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, a source told Axios. They come as Twitter faces a complicated takeover bid from billionaire Elon Musk.

Details: On Thursday, Twitter's head of consumer Kayvon Beykpour announced he would be leaving the company after more than seven years. He said that "Parag asked me to leave after letting me know that he wants to take the team in a different direction."

• Beykpour joined Twitter in 2015 after Twitter acquired the live video streaming platform Periscope that Beykpour co-founded and led as CEO.
• Twitter also confirmed that its revenue product lead, Bruce Falck, will be leaving the company.
• Jay Sullivan, head of consumer products at Twitter, will become Twitter's new general manager of Bluebird, its product team, and the interim general manager of Goldbird, Twitter's revenue team.
• Bloomberg reported that the company has also rescinded some new offers out to employees amid the cutbacks.

The big picture: Inside Twitter, the Musk drama has been wearing on employees, who don't understand how the takeover bid will play out and how it will impact jobs. Cuts and hiring freezes could put a continued strain on Twitter's workforce at an already stressful time.