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Tesla Is Giving (and Having) a Hard Time to (With) Its Employees Worldwide

If Tesla was not having enough trouble with its products already, it is also giving its employees worldwide a hard time. Predictably, they are fighting back and making it clear that they will not take that peacefully from Tesla.
Gigafactory Nevada 10 photos
Photo: Tesla
Tesla FremontTesla FremontTesla FremontTesla FremontTesla FremontTesla FremontTesla FremontTesla FremontGigafactory Nevada
Tesla is indeed cutting jobs despite Elon Musk saying these cuts would be restricted to white collars. The Gigafactory in Nevada fired 500 people. Two of these former employees decided to sue the company because it did not respect a legal requirement for this massive job cut.

According to Bloomberg, John Lynch and Daxton Hartsfield started a class action against the company because it should have given them a 60-day warning of the layoff. This legal requirement comes from the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which establishes that any company planning to terminate more than 50 employees on any of its sites has to warn them about that to give them time to find another job. Lynch was told on, June 10, that he was fired that same day. Hartsfield lost his position in the same way on June 15.

At Giga Grünheide, Tesla does not have to fire anyone. In fact, it does not manage to retain its employees because it is being forced to increase wages. According to what IG Metall told Der Spiegel, skilled workers there are receiving 20% less than those in factories in the region with wage agreements – but it gets worse.

Tesla is increasing the wages only for the most recent employees. When people hired before learn that they are receiving less money to perform the same task, they quit. That makes Tesla either have to hire them again for higher wages or try to find replacements that still receive 20% less than those working for other factories.

Tesla used to say that it offered its employees stock options, which could eventually make them rich. What many of them report is that they get fired shortly before being entitled to the stock options. With depreciating share prices, the deal may not sound as attractive as before.

It seems the problem is not Tesla itself. SpaceX, also run by Elon Musk, also had issues with terminations. After some employees wrote an open letter urging the company to distance itself from what the CEO does, at least five were fired. These guys may try to sue the company at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). According to experts heard by The Verge, they would have a strong retaliation case in their hands.
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Editor's note: The gallery contains images of Tesla employees in Fremont and a picture of the Gigafactory Nevada.

About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
Gustavo Henrique Ruffo profile photo

Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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