Elon Musk plans to lay off most of Twitter�s workforce if and when he becomes owner of the social media company, according to a report Thursday by The Washington Post.

Musk has told prospective investors in his Twitter purchase that he plans to cut nearly 75% of Twitter�s employee base of 7,500 workers, leaving the company with a skeleton crew, according to the report. The newspaper cited documents and unnamed sources familiar with the deliberations.

San Francisco-based Twitter and a representative for Musk attorney Alex Spiro did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

While job cuts have been expected regardless of the sale, the magnitude of Musk�s planned cuts are far more extreme than anything Twitter had planned. Musk himself has alluded to the need to cull some of the company�s staff in the past, but he hadn�t given a specific number � at least not publicly.

�A 75% headcount cut would indicate, at least out of the gates, stronger free cash flow and profitability, which would be attractive to investors looking to get in on the deal,� said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. �That said, you can�t cut your way to growth.�

Ives added that such a drastic reduction in Twitter�s workforce would likely set the company back years.

Already, experts, nonprofits and even Twitter�s own staff have warned that pulling back investments on content moderation and data security could hurt Twitter and its users. With as drastic a reduction as Musk may be planning, the platform could quickly become overrun with harmful content and spam � the latter of which the Tesla CEO himself has said he�ll address if he becomes owner of the company.

After his initial $44 billion bid in April to buy Twitter, Musk backed out of the deal, contending Twitter misrepresented the number of fake �spam bot� accounts on its platform. Twitter sued, and a Delaware judge has given both sides until Oct. 28 to work out details. Otherwise, there will be a trial in November.

(AP)