Elon Musk’s has reportedly instituted a hiring freeze across its North American operations, following weeks of layoffs that have impacted thousands of employees.
Gizmodo reports that in a stark contrast to the over 3,400 job postings available across the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Puerto Rico on May 1, Tesla’s job board now lists a mere three positions, all related to its manufacturing development program.
This sudden reduction in job listings comes amidst ongoing layoffs that have affected various departments within the company, including the Supercharger division, public policy team, service advisers, human resource workers, product engineers, and industrializing engineers.
Connecticut Tesla still burning (Stamford Fire Department)
Australian tesla fire (Penrose Rural Fire Service)
The layoffs, which began on April 16, were initially attributed to the need for cost reductions and increasing productivity by CEO Elon Musk. In an email to employees, Musk expressed his regret over the job cuts but emphasized their necessity as the company prepares for its next phase of growth.
However, in a subsequent email to senior executives, Musk adopted a more stringent approach, demanding that they be “absolutely hardcore” about issuing further job cuts and threatening to ask for resignations from those who retained more than three workers who did not meet his “excellent, necessary and trustworthy test.”
The impact of these layoffs has been far-reaching, with reports suggesting that more than 20,000 people may have been affected in the first round alone. The abrupt nature of the layoffs has left many employees feeling disposable, as evidenced by the testimonial of a former Tesla employee who shared their experience on LinkedIn: “Nothing but an email to make us aware of how disposable we were as employees.”
Adding to the chaos, several high-profile executives have either already resigned or plan to do so later this year, including former senior vice president of powertrain and energy Drew Baglino and senior director of human resources for North America Allie Arebalo. The departure of key personnel during this challenging period raises concerns about the company’s ability to navigate the current situation effectively.
Read more at Gizmodo here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
