Tesla on layoffs: No 3,000 jobs affected – economy

Grünheide (dpa) – US carmaker Tesla wants to consider job cuts at its only European factory in Grünheide near Berlin, but at the same time rejected reports of 3,000 jobs being affected at the plant. Tesla boss Elon Musk wants to cut more than one in ten jobs at the company worldwide due to a slump in the electric car market and weak sales, he announced in an internal email. “We are convinced that it is only an efficient and lean organization that is well prepared for the challenges of the future. Our experience shows that this approach contributes significantly to our success,” a Tesla spokesman in Grünheide said of the request.

Regarding the job cuts to be announced, it was said: “We are investigating this action and will pursue it at the Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg against the basis of all labor laws and the requirement of co-determination with the involvement of the works council.” The number of 3,000 affected positions cited in media reports is “absolutely baseless.”

There was previously no information on how many jobs at the electric car manufacturer in Grünheide could be affected. More than 12,000 people now work at the Grünheide factory. Recently, Tesla’s plans to expand the factory caused controversy. In addition, the attack on the power supply of the car factory caused uncertainty. During a factory tour in Grünheide in March, Tesla boss Musk said that he was holding on to expansion plans. Meanwhile, environmental groups continue to protest against the electric car manufacturer: Some activists have been occupying the forest near the factory in Grünheide since the end of February and camping in tree houses.

Among other things, Tesla is feeling the effects of a fierce price war in China, the largest car market, and delivered surprisingly fewer cars worldwide in the first quarter of about 387,000 cars than a year earlier. Even before that, after years of great growth, doubts have already grown about the pace of growth in the electric car market.

© dpa‍-infocom, dpa:240416‍-99‍-692325/3