Just two days after allegedly telling workers to get back in the office or leave the company, Tesla CEO Elon Musk reportedly sent another email to executives. This time the message has even greater ramifications for employees, as it calls for mass layoffs equaling 10 percent of Tesla's global workforce. A global hiring freeze could also take effect.
The word comes not from Tesla, but from Reuters. The news outlet states it saw the email allegedly sent by Musk, in which he also expresses considerable concern about the economy. There's no mention of a specific number of layoffs that could occur, but SEC filings show Tesla employed approximately 100,000 people at the end of last year. Some basic math tells us a 10 percent reduction could mean 10,000 Tesla jobs are at risk. As for new jobs, Tesla currently has thousands of positions listed on its website for locations around the world.
Gallery: 2021 Tesla Model Y
Earlier this week, an email allegedly from Musk appeared on social media in which he took a strong position against remote work. The message sent to executive staff told employees to be in the office for a "minimum" of 40 hours per week or leave the company. When asked about the message and remote work on Twitter, Musk didn't deny sending it and responded with a tweet saying "they should pretend to work somewhere else." Curiously, a Reddit thread started by an alleged Tesla employee claims it's impossible for some to return to the office, simply because they don't actually have one.
They should pretend to work somewhere else
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2022
Motor1.com has made multiple attempts to contact Tesla for a comment on these reports. No reply has been received.
Record high fuel prices and sky-high inflation in the United States have many experts concerned that a recession is coming. As for Tesla, Reuters reports company shares dropped 5 percent on Friday in US pre-market trade and 3.6 percent in Frankfurt.
