According to BusinessInsider, multiple Tesla factory workers revealed that they only learned that they were fired after security personnel scanned their badges and were refused entry to the factory.
Tesla notified employees via email on Sunday night that the company would be laying off more than 10% of its workforce. However, some employees didn’t know they’d lost their jobs until they arrived at the company on Monday, according to five current or former employees.
The layoffs affect employees at all levels, including engineers and production line workers. Workers queued for about two hours to enter the factory in Sparks, Nevada, on Monday morning because of access card checks, a worker said.
Two current Tesla employees who spoke on condition of anonymity said security personnel would scan badges as worker shuttles arrived at the factory, single out those who were fired and put them in another vehicle to leave. Normally, security personnel only check the badge and do not scan it directly.
Three other former Tesla employees said workers at the Fremont plant were told by security that if their badges were unusable, it meant they were fired.
Fired Tesla employees received notifications in their personal emails on Sunday night and had their access to Tesla systems revoked, according to four employees. An email memo shows Elon Musk’s company-wide email announcing the layoffs was sent just before midnight on Sunday.
A separate email to the fired employees read: “We have completed a comprehensive review of the organization and have made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce globally. Unfortunately, as a result of this restructuring, your position has been eliminated. ” The email, sent directly to laid-off employees, said the layoffs would be effective immediately and employees would receive information about severance packages within 48 hours.
It is noticed that on the same day that Tesla announced layoffs, at least two executives resigned. Drew Baglino, senior vice president of powertrain and electrical engineering, and Rohan Patel, vice president of public policy and business development, reportedly left Tesla on Sunday.
Before the layoffs, Tesla had more than 140,000 employees worldwide, including more than 3,000 at its Nevada factory.
