Tesla plans voluntary job cuts of around 400 in Germany – 04/23/2024 at 4:01 pm

(Automatic translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer

(Restore paragraph 1; context added to paragraphs 2 and 4; Minister of Economy of Brandenburg in paragraphs 5 and 6) by Ilona Wissenbach and Christoph Steitz

Tesla TSLA.O aims to cut about 400 jobs at its German factory near Berlin, or about 3% of the factory’s total workforce, it said on Tuesday, adding that it hoped to do so without being forced.

This step is no more drastic than the efforts of the whole group to reduce the global workforce of Tesla (more than 140,000 people) by more than 10%, in response to the increasing price war of electric vehicles, which pushes car manufacturers to reduce costs.

“The current weakening of the electric car sales market also poses challenges for Tesla,” the company said in a statement, adding that discussions are ongoing with the factory’s works council.

The company said it hoped job cuts at the Gruenheide site, Tesla’s only factory in Europe, could be made as part of a voluntary plan.

“I deeply regret the job cuts announced at Tesla in Gruenheide, however, I am happy that this is being implemented proportionately,” said Joerg Steinbach, Minister of Economy of the German state of Brandenburg, where the factory is based. .

He added that the cuts were “moderate by comparison”.

Tesla’s Gruenheide site employs more than 12,000 people and the automaker said last week it would lay off about 300 part-time workers as part of its global downsizing plan.

“It is always in our interest to run our production as efficiently as possible,” Tesla said.

Investors expect the group’s gross profit margin to be the lowest in more than six years as global demand for electric vehicles slows. .