Twitter has confirmed that two of its bosses are leaving the social media company in one of the biggest shake-ups since Elon Musk agreed to buy the firm.

The executives had been leading Twitter's consumer and revenue operations.

From this week, the firm has also paused most hiring, except for "business critical roles".

The move comes as the multi-billionaire Tesla boss moves ahead with a $44bn (£36bn) takeover of the platform.

"We are pulling back on non-labour costs to ensure we are being responsible and efficient," a Twitter spokesperson told the BBC.

Kayvon Beykpour, who led Twitter's consumer division, and Bruce Falck, who oversaw revenue, both tweeted on Thursday that the departures were not their decisions.

Mr Beykpour said that he is currently on paternity leave and was disappointed after being asked to leave by Mr Parag, who "wants to take the team in a different direction".

Interrupting my paternity leave to share some final @twitter-related news: I’m leaving the company after over 7 years.

— Kayvon Beykpour (@kayvz) May 12, 2022

Mr Falck tweeted: "I'll clarify that I too was fired by (Parag)." But he appeared to delete the tweet later. His Twitter bio now says "unemployed".

Jay Sullivan, who was leading the consumer unit during Mr Beykpour's leave, will become permanent head of the division. He will also oversee the revenue team until a new leader is appointed.