AUSTIN, Texas — Workers at the Tesla Gigafactory in Austin went to work the morning of April 15 like any other day. Turns out, a handful of employees were laid off and told to find employment elsewhere.
According to both Reuters and tech publication Electrek, Tesla is reportedly laying off 10% of its global workforce and cutting hours for Cybertruck employees at its Austin Gigafactory, with both sources citing a companywide email sent by CEO Elon Musk.
Many former Tesla employees from Central Texas took to social media to share their frustration. Some say they would have appreciated a heads up while others are left to search for a job in a short period of time.
One former employee wished to remain anonymous as they said they signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement with Tesla, but said they and their co-workers were very surprised when they found out they were laid off Monday morning.
"I work morning shift so I was going to check my time card and I couldn't get on any of my apps," The former employee explained. "I already knew that when you're logged out of these [apps] or anything like that, you're terminated."
The employee went on to say they contacted a number of their other co-workers who also could not log into their work apps.
"We thought we were going to Cybertruck, that's the new department, the new vehicle we're building," The employee added. "They rounded people up to go up there because they just opened night shift."
About an hour after they were unable to log into work, the employee checked their email and saw that they received a termination letter from Tesla officials.
"I got my first apartment working at Tesla," The employee said. "I just got my first car, I have bills, I have a life actually outside of work and that's what they never understood."
The employee went on to add that while the job itself was challenging at times and the hours were very long, it was something they needed to do for work.
Another anonymous worker told 6 News Tesla is offering employees some sort of package they should be receiving by Wednesday, April 17.
According to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires businesses to provide notice 60 days in advance of plant closures or mass layoffs under certain circumstances.
Violations of the WARN Act, including failure to adhere to notification period requirements, may result in back pay for affected employees and penalties of up to $500 per day of violation.
6 News does not know the exact number of layoffs that occurred at the Gigafactory.
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