Mexican engineers flood Tesla job fair in Monterrey
MONTERREY: Engineers from across Mexico streamed into a cramped hotel lobby in the industrial city of Monterrey for a chance of a job with the US electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc, which is looking south of the border for talent in short supply at home.
The fair was held at a delicate time for American firms hiring abroad as President Donald Trump reviews immigration rules for bringing highskilled foreign workers to the United States, part of a “buy American, hire American” policy.
Tesla, which prides itself on its “Made in America” credentials, had scheduled interviews with an unknown number of Mexican candidates on Friday and was slated to screen other prospective employees over the weekend at the closed-door event.
The Silicon Valley automaker is recruiting in the United States’ neighbour for work on robotics and other automated equipment at its Fremont, California factory, where it aims to build 500,000 cars a year by 2018, a six-fold increase from 2016. The factory upcoming Model 3.
Mexico boasts a substantial pool of experienced manufacturing engineers, with 19 automotive plants owned by global automakers including General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Volkswagen.
A steady tide of hopefuls showed up at the event unannounced and without an appointment, some having will build Tesla’s travelled hundreds of kilometres, mistakenly thinking it was an open recruiting fair. Several dozen were turned away. Tesla gave them a brief explanation about the mix-up, said those being interviewed were often already weeks into their application processes, and directed them to email their resumes, according to more than a dozen mechanical, mechatronic, electrical and chemical engineers outside the event.