Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks at the Tesla Giga Texas Manufacturing “Cyber Rodeo” grand opening party in Austin, Texas, April 7, 2022.
Suzanne Cordeiro | AFP | Getty Images
You’re here The company is cutting about 12% of its workforce at a plant in Austin, Texas, as part of a broader restructuring the company announced last week.
According to a Tuesday letter regarding the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN), the layoffs affect 2,688 employees at the Travis County facility. In 2021, Tesla CEO Elon Musk moved the company’s headquarters to Austin from Palo Alto, California.
Musk said in an internal memo last week that Tesla was cutting more than 10% of its global workforce as the electric vehicle maker faces declining sales and increased competition. He did not specify which departments or sites would be most affected.
“As we prepare the company for our next phase of growth, it is extremely important to examine all aspects of the business to reduce costs and increase productivity,” he wrote. A subsequent WARN notice filed in New York said 285 positions were being eliminated at a Buffalo plant.
Tesla employed 140,473 people in December, according to filings.
Tesla officially opened its electric vehicle and battery factory in Texas in April 2022, with a “cyber rodeo” party. The company now makes some of its Model Y crossover utility vehicles in Austin and has begun building its Cybertruck there.
Musk later called the Austin plant and another assembly plant in Germany “gigantic money pits” in an interview with Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, a fan club that promotes Tesla vehicles.
According to documents filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Tesla planned to spend more than $770 million last year to build expanded facilities in Austin, including testing and manufacturing of power cells. battery, the manufacture of cathodes and control units, as well as a die workshop. , among others.
Tuesday’s WARN document noted that “none of the employees are represented by a union and none of the employees have bumping rights,” or the right of older workers to replace those with less seniority.
Executives are expected to discuss the restructuring during the company’s quarterly earnings conference call at 5:30 p.m. ET.
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