05/27/2024
Some Tesla factory workers realized they were laid off when security scanned their badges and sent them back on shuttles, sources say — Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent employees a memo about the layoffs late Sunday evening. Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent employees a memo about the layoffs late Sunday evening. Nathan Howard and Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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Tesla laid off over 10% of its workforce on Sunday night.
Some factory employees only realized they were laid off when their badges didn't work, sources told BI.
At the Nevada factory, the process of weeding out laid-off staff in line to enter caused around a 2-hour backup, one source said.
Tesla told staff it was laying off more than 10% of its workforce on Sunday night, but some workers didn't realize they were laid off until they showed up at the company's facilities, five current or former workers told Business Insider.
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The cuts impacted engineers and production associates alike. At Tesla's factory in Sparks, Nevada, workers faced about a two-hour line Monday morning in order to get into the facility as a result of badge checks, one worker said.
At the factory, the security team was scanning the badges of workers coming out of the shuttles that ferry people between the factory and nearby parking lots, said two current Tesla workers who requested anonymity since they weren't authorized to speak about the matter. Typically, security guards inspect workers' badges at the site, but don't usually scan them directly, the two workers said. On Monday morning, the officials picked out the workers who had been laid off and sent them back on separate vans, the two workers said.
Three other former Tesla employees said workers at the Fremont factory were told by security that if their badges didn't work they were no longer employed.
Tesla told staff it doing layoffs on Sunday night, but some workers realized they were out of a job when security scanned their badges.
