Tesla fires up to 700 workers after performance reviews, say sources

TOKYO: Tesla Inc has fired an undetermined number of employees following a series of performance evaluations after the company significantly boosted its workforce with the purchase of solar panel maker SolarCity Corp.

The departures were part of an annual review, said the company, without providing a number of people affected.

The maker of the Model S last week dismissed between 400 and 700 employees, including engineers, managers and factory workers, the San Jose Mercury News reported on Friday, citing current and former workers.

“As with any company, especially one of over 33,000 employees, performance reviews also occasionally result in employee departures,” said the company. “Tesla is continuing to grow and hire new employees around the world.”

The company has more than 2,000 job openings on its careers website.

The dismissals come after Tesla said it built just 260 Model 3 sedans during the third quarter, less than a fifth of its 1,500-unit forecast.

The company has offered scant detail about the problems it’s having producing the car. The vehicle’s entry price starts at US$35,000 (RM147,700), roughly half the cost of Tesla’s least-expensive Model S sedan.

A delayed ramp-up risks the ire of some of the almost half million reservation holders who started paying US$1,000 deposits early last year.

On Thursday, chief executive officer Elon Musk posted a video on Instagram of what he said was a stamping press producing body panels for the Model 3.

Tesla bought SolarCity, which manufactures and installs rooftop solar panels, for about US$2 billion last year. Bloomberg