The US electric car manufacturer Tesla wants to cut around 400 jobs at its German factory in Grünheide as part of the announced global workforce cuts. Tesla is planning a volunteer program to avoid compulsory layoffs, the company said on Tuesday. Discussions about this should begin with the works council. “The currently weak sales market for electric cars also poses challenges for Tesla,” it continued. That’s why company boss Elon Musk announced global job cuts last week. The Gigafactory in Grünheide has already deregistered 300 temporary workers.
In total, Tesla employs more than 12,000 people at the factory in Brandenburg. In an internal communication, Musk announced that he would cut more than one in ten of the 140,000 jobs worldwide due to weaker demand. The car manufacturer will publish its first quarter figures on Tuesday. A decline in sales and profits is expected after sales fell significantly for the first time in almost four years despite significant price cuts.
IG Metall calls for a stop to staff cuts
The members of IG Metall in the newly elected Tesla works council called for the staff cuts to be stopped. The trade unionists want to win a majority in the works council to work to save the jobs, because although they are the largest faction in employee representation, they do not have a majority. “This workforce reduction is wrong, especially in view of the planned increases in production and expansion plans,” they explained last week. There is immense work pressure in many areas because there is a lack of staff.