Tesla Inc. plans to cut more than 6,000 jobs across Texas and California as part of Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s demand to slash more than 10 per cent of the global workforce.
The reductions include 2,688 workers in Austin, where the electric vehicle maker is headquartered and has a major factory. Those cuts will begin during a 14-day period that starts June 14, according to a WARN notice filed with the Texas Workforce Commission.
Tesla also revealed plans to lay off 3,332 employees across multiple sites in California, according to separate WARN notices filed in that state.
Tesla had more than 140,000 employees globally before it started its largest-ever round of job cuts. While the automaker said on April 15 it was laying off more than 10 per cent of its workforce, the actual number of people ushered out may exceed 20,000, according to people familiar with the company’s planning.
The company employed more than 22,000 people in Austin at the end of last year. Tesla’s production facility there makes the Model Y and Cybertruck, though it wasn’t clear how many of the roles cut were factory jobs.