Watch CBS News

Twitter CEO Gives Up $200M In Stock For Company Employees

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) -- Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is relinquishing stock worth more than $200 million so the messaging service can award the shares to its employees.

The gesture disclosed Friday in a regulatory filing comes a week after Dorsey announced that he was laying off 8 percent of Twitter's workforce in an effort to make the company profitable.

The gift represents nearly one-third of the stock Dorsey owns in the San Francisco company. After giving back 6.8 million shares, Dorsey will still own 15 million Twitter shares.

Dorsey's remaining stake will be worth about $460 million, based on Twitter's current market value.

Twitter's stock gained 5 percent to $30.63 in Friday's afternoon trading.

The shares have declined by 40 percent in the past six months amid concerns about Twitter's inability to make money.

© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.