Tesla may have told its staff it was laying off over 10 percent of its workforce over the weekend, but apparently, not everyone got the memo. Some workers didn’t realize they were laid off until they showed up at the automaker’s facilities and found their key cards didn’t work anymore.
All of this information came from a handful of confidential sources who spoke to Business Insider. These job cuts came from all over Tesla’s huge network of workers – from engineers to production associates. This confusion caused a two-hour line just to get into the automaker’s facility in Sparks, Nevada as the company did badge checks at the door.
Here’s what that hectic scene was like, according to Business Insider:
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 they don’t usually scan them directly, the two workers said. On Monday morning, the officials picked out the workers who’d been laid off and sent them back in separate vans, the two workers said.
Similar situations played out at Tesla’s other facilities as well.
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.
All Tesla workers got an email from CEO Elon Musk just before midnight Pacific Time on Sunday regarding the layoffs, but employees who were directly impacted by the cuts were sent another email letting them know their Tesla system access would soon be revoked. Workers were told they would receive information about their severance within 48 hours. Here’s more of that email, obtained by Business Insider:
“We have done a thorough review of the organization and made the difficult decision to reduce our headcount globally. Unfortunately as a result, your position has been eliminated by this restructuring,” read a separate email notifying impacted employees they’d been laid off, according to a copy viewed by BI.
It was a busy day for Tesla, personnel-wise. At least two executives resigned from the company. Both Drew Baglino, senior vice president of powertrain and electric engineering and Rohan Patel, vice president of public policy and business development said they left the automaker.
Before the cuts, Tesla employed over 140,000 workers globally.