Tesla's global job cuts to hit China's sales team: Report
CEO Elon Musk wrote to his staff that the company is laying off more than 10% of its global workforce, as it is grappling with falling sales and an intensifying price war for electric vehicles.
Auto major Tesla's global job cuts will be hitting China, which is its biggest market after the United States, which will mainly affect the sales team, Reuters reported quoting two sources. On Monday, CEO Elon Musk wrote to his staff that the company is laying off more than 10% of its global workforce, as it is grappling with falling sales and an intensifying price war for electric vehicles. A ten per cent reduction in the workforce would be equivalent to at least 14,000 roles. The two sources said some staff in Tesla's China sales team were being notified, with one saying more than 10% were losing their jobs. The second source said other teams were also impacted.
The cuts come as Tesla is facing increasing competition in China, the world's largest auto market, where it has been locked in a fierce price war with rivals led by BYD that have been rolling out new models at speed.
The global cuts are a sign of cost pressures as Tesla invests in new models and artificial intelligence, analysts at Gartner and Hargreaves Lansdown said on Monday.
On Monday, Musk wrote that Tesla had grown rapidly in recent years and as a result there had been duplication of roles and job functions in certain areas.
There is nothing I hate more, but it must be done. This will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle,” Musk said in the memo, which was seen by news agency Reuters.
The move follows a difficult start to the year for the electric carmaker. Tesla said it had made approximately 387,000 deliveries to customers in the first quarter of 2024, missing market expectations by about 13%. It was its first fall in deliveries in nearly four years.