AUSTIN, Texas — Editor's note: The above video was published on April 8.
Tesla is reportedly laying off 10% of its global workforce and cutting hours for Cybertruck employees at its Austin gigafactory.
Both Reuters and tech publication Electrek reported Monday morning that Tesla is cutting 10% of its workforce worldwide, both citing a companywide email sent by CEO Elon Musk.
According to the Reuters report, some staff in Texas and California have already been notified of layoffs, though it's unclear right now how or if the cuts will impact Tesla's operations in Central Texas.
Tesla had 140,473 employees globally as of December 2023, and while the memo from Musk didn't say how many jobs will be impacted by these planned cuts, 10% of the workforce would equate to roughly 14,000 employees.
Electrek's report includes the full text of Musk's memo, in which the CEO said the layoffs are necessary to eliminate "duplication of roles and job functions in certain areas" that he said are a byproduct of Tesla's rapid growth.
"There is nothing I hate more, but it must be done," Musk wrote of the layoffs. "This will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle."
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Meanwhile, over the weekend Business Insider reported that Tesla has sent an internal message to Austin employees who work on the Cybertrucks, informing them their production line shifts will now be shorter.
Business Insider reported that previously, Cybertruck workers clocked 12-hour long shifts, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Now, according to the memo, they will be working 11-hour shifts during the day and 10.5-hour shifts at night, from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 4:30 a.m.
These memos come after Tesla reported a dip in first-quarter delivery sales and the first year-over-year quarterly sales decline in nearly four years. The news also comes about a week after Tesla reported to Travis County that it finished 2023 with nearly 23,000 workers at the gigafactory, making it the largest private employer in the Austin area.
Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.