Elon Musk’s ultimatum to employees may have been part of a bigger plan to reduce Twitter’s headcount beyond layoffs.

Musk gave employees an ultimatum that they needed to commit to an “extremely hardcore” work environment, and failure to do so would be taken as a resignation. The results were hardly surprising, with many employees opting out. Some reports indicated the number of employees leaving surprised Musk, with him attempting to assuage concerns in the eleventh hour.

According to Platformer, however, Musk’s ultimatum may have been a calculated attempt to reduce the company’s headcount without resorting to additional layoffs. Musk originally planned to lay off as much as 75% of Twitter’s employees, before being convinced to stop at 50%.

With his ultimatum, Musk may have found a way to have his cake and eat it too.