TECHNOLOGY

Tesla to lay off nearly 2,700 workers at Austin factory, according to WARN Act notice

Austin American-Statesman
Cybertrucks stand outside Tesla's Austin-area factory. The company is planning to lay off nearly 2,700 workers at the local factory in June, according to a notice filed by Tesla.

Tesla is planning to lay off nearly 2,700 workers at its Austin-area factory in June, according to a notice filed by the company as required by federal labor law and obtained by the American-Statesman.

The layoff notice for 2,688 employees was posted Monday under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The law requires employers with 100 or more workers to provide notification 60 days in advance of planned closings or mass layoffs to protect workers and their families.

Layoffs will begin June 14, according to the notice filed with the Texas Workforce Commission.

The layoff notice comes ahead of the company’s earnings call Tuesday, during which a drop in year-over-year revenue is expected to be announced for the first time since 2020 amid layoffs, recalls, price cutting and a fight over a potential $56 billion pay package for CEO Elon Musk. 

"There is nothing I hate more, but it must be done," Musk said in an email sent to employees earlier this month about the global layoffs, according to news website Electrek. "This will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle."

The American-Statesman reported earlier this month that Tesla’s Austin-area facility had grown to 22,777 employees, up from 12,277 a year earlier, making the company the largest private employer in Austin.

The Statesman reported earlier this month that Tesla’s Austin-area facility had grown to 22,777 employees, up from 12,277 a year earlier, according to a report the company filed with Travis County. The growth made Tesla the largest private employer in Austin, just ahead of H-E-B, which has about 19,000 employees, according to employment data tracked by Opportunity Austin, a regional economic development initiative.

Reuters reported last week that Tesla was set to slash 10% of its global workforce — which would be more than 14,000 employees — according to an internal company memo.

The layoffs come after Tesla has struggled to perform in 2024, with a 35% drop in its stock since Jan. 1 and a decline in vehicle deliveries. 

Last week, the company recalled nearly 4,000 Cybertrucks over a defect causing the accelerator to get stuck when pressed, increasing the risk of a crash. The recall includes all the Cybertrucks that Tesla has sold since the vehicle went on the market in November.