US car manufacturer Tesla wants to examine job cuts at its only European factory in Grünheide near Berlin, but at the same time rejected reports that 3,000 jobs in the factory would be affected. Tesla boss Elon Musk (52) wants to cut more than one in ten jobs in the company in view of the slack on the market for electric cars and weak sales worldwide, as he announced in an internal email. “We are convinced that only an efficient and lean organization is well positioned for future challenges. Our experience shows that this approach contributes significantly to our success,” said a spokeswoman for Tesla in Grünheide when asked on Tuesday.
Regarding the announced job cuts, it was said: “We are examining this measure and will pursue it for the Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg against the background of all labor law and co-determination requirements, including the works council.” The number of 3,000 affected jobs mentioned in the “Handelsblatt” “is irrelevant Basis”.
There was initially no information as to how many jobs at the electric car manufacturer in Grünheide might be affected. More than 12,000 people now work at the plant in Grünheide.
The Brandenburg FDP called on the state government to act immediately. The FDP’s top candidate for the state election, Zyon Braun (29), called on Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (62, SPD) to do everything in his power to save jobs. “Prime Minister Woidke has to take the next plane to Los Angeles to talk to Elon Musk about saving jobs in Brandenburg. All other appointments and obligations must now be put aside,” said Braun. There are state elections in Brandenburg in September, and local elections in Grünheide in June.
Works council has “no information yet”
The Union IG Metall had previously requested further information from Tesla. “So far there have been a lot of rumors and a declaration of intent from the company headquarters,” explained the Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony district manager, Dirk Schulze. “Even the works council has no information about what this means for Grünheide.” It is the legal duty of management not only to inform the works council comprehensively, but also to advise them on how employment can be secured.
Tesla shares fell on the stock market. Since the beginning of the year, they have lost almost a third of their value – unlike the shares of established car manufacturers such as GM or Toyota, which have increased significantly. “Tesla is growing up as a company and is no longer the growth story it long was,” said Craig Irwin, analyst at financial services provider Roth Capital. “Layoffs suggest management expects demand to remain weak for longer.”
First decline in sales in four years
Tesla will present its business figures for the past quarter next week. However, the electric car pioneer was with one A significant decline in sales started the year. It was the first time in almost four years that the company sold fewer vehicles than a year ago.
The electric car pioneer is still the largest manufacturer of purely electric cars – but it is the Chinese supplier BYD on the heels. In addition, there is tougher competition from newcomers to the industry such as smartphone manufacturers Xiaomi in China and the growing range of electric cars from established manufacturers such as VW. The effect of price cuts and discounts is now dwindling as Americans are only slowly refreshing their aging model range and will only come up with important new products next year. According to insiders, Tesla has abandoned its plan to build a low-cost electric car for the mass market. Musk rejected this account, but left open what exactly was wrong.
In Europe, Tesla initially had to temporarily suspend production in Grünheide near Berlin due to delivery bottlenecks for components caused by the rerouting of ships following attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and an attack on the factory’s power supply.