RIGHT NOW: 14,000 forced to leave Tesla: "Hate it"

Tesla

Around 14,000 employees may leave Tesla

TT-Bloomberg

Updated 13.01 | Published 12.08

More than ten percent of Tesla's workforce may go in connection with cutbacks. This is announced through an internal letter sent out by founder Elon Musk.

The information comes through the industry site Electrek, which took part in Musk's information letter.

“There is nothing I hate more than this but it has to be done. This will make us agile, innovative and hungry for the next growth cycle," writes Musk.

Elon Musk. Photo: Michel Euler / TT

No exact number

The site does not have an exact figure for how many are affected by the layoffs, but the company had 140,000 employees at the turn of the year, which would mean that more than 14,000 may now go.

Musk himself mentions the figure of 10 percent globally in his message.

"In recent years, we have grown with several factories around the world. With the strong growth, there has been duplication of job roles in some areas. As we now prepare the company for the next phase of growth, it is extremely important that every aspect of the company is reviewed to bring about cost reductions and increased efficiency," writes Musk.

            
           One of Tesla's factories in California, USA. Photo: Ben Margot/AP/TT

China a challenge

The announcement is yet another in a series of gloomy ones for Tesla. In connection with the latest market update, the company announced that it is not reaching the market's sales forecast. Although Tesla does not report sales by region, Electrek writes that the Chinese market in particular is believed to be extra challenging with a number of domestic car brands now competing in the electric car market.

Tesla will release its next quarterly report on April 23. Analysts expect earnings of 50 cents per share, down from 85 cents in the same period last year.