A week ago, it was reported that Elon Musk had laid off two senior executives at Tesla and hundreds of other employees were expected to lose their jobs as well. One of the employees who had been laid off was Rebecca Tinucci, who was working as the senior director of Tesla's Supercharger business. The second high-level employee who was laid off was Daniel Ho, head of the new vehicles program. Now, the company had sent layoff notices to more employees over the weekend, Business Insider reports. Many employees have also shared their experience on LinkedIn, sharing a screenshot of the mail they received.
As mentioned already, Tesla has intensified its workforce reductions, initiating another series of layoffs. This marks the fourth consecutive week of job cuts at the company. According to a report from Business Insider, several Tesla employees received layoff notices over the weekend and some shared their experience on LinkedIn. One employee described the recurring job cuts as seeing their team "gradually slimmed down" until they too received a layoff email.
A Tesla employee anonymously voiced concerns to Business Insider about the ongoing uncertainty, stating, "We need some level of closure or a sign that we can stop worrying about losing our jobs."
Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, had announced on April 14 that the company would be reducing its workforce by more than 10 percent due to overlaps in job functions. This announcement was quickly followed by a series of layoffs affecting various departments including recruitment, marketing, and the Supercharging team. Reports had surfaced that as many as 500 people in the Supercharging team lost their jobs. Additionally, the company has been notifying impacted employees, with some finding out about their job status only after their access to Tesla facilities was denied.
Moreover, in the last month, Tesla saw at least six executives leaving, including those with high-ranking positions in powertrain engineering and public policy.
These layoffs occurred against a backdrop of slowing demand for Tesla’s electric vehicles, as evidenced by lower-than-expected delivery numbers reported in April. Tesla had over 140,000 employees worldwide before the layoffs began, with recent filings indicating that thousands of jobs have been cut at its California and Texas locations.
An employee affected by the layoffs had earlier shared an email sent by Tesla with The Verge. Here is what the email read:
"I am reaching out to let you know that after a careful review of your permanent work restrictions and your role, it was determined that there was no reasonable accommodation that would enable you to perform the essential functions of your position in your role. The next step in the interactive process is the Alternative Job Search (AJS process), which consists of reviewing Tesla’s internal and external job board to identify potential positions. This is to inform you that we have not identified any openings for which you appear qualified. Given recent changes in the business, we also do not currently anticipate any such openings in the near term. As such, we are advising that we intend to conclude the AJS process at this time. As we have not identified an alternative available position, we will begin processing your separation from employment with Tesla, effective May 3rd, 2024."
