Elon Musk has banned remote working at Twitter, warning staff of “difficult times” ahead, just days after sacking half the workforce.

Employees who survived last week’s cull by the social network’s new owner were told via email they would be expected to be in the office for at least 40 hours per week, according to Bloomberg News.

He was said to have made the remarks in his first direct email to employees since his $44bn takeover last month.

The world’s richest man wrote that only he could approve working from home, Bloomberg said, a move he had already threatened to impose when he first agreed to buy Twitter.

Musk was also said to have told staff that he wants to see subscriptions account for half the company’s revenue as it battles a tougher global economy that is depressing advertising demand.

There is “no way to sugarcoat the message”, he was reported to have said about the outlook.

It was revealed last week that Twitter is to charge users $8 a month for blue check marks to verify the authenticity of a user’s account.

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Twitter Blue, the name for the social media platform’s subscription service, has gone live in the UK.

Twitter users on Apple’s iOS can now sign up and pay for the service, which will give them the blue-tick badge next to their profile name.

The move reflects not only Musk’s plans to grow the company’s revenue streams but also target bot and spam accounts.

Twitter has not been alone in its efforts to cut costs within the wider tech sector.

While its job losses accounted for the highest number, in percentage terms, among the big names to date Meta cut more than 11,000 staff this week.

Microsoft has also been among firms to wield the axe.

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