Tesla is cutting 14,000 employees, about 10% of its global workforce. Between the weak growth prospects, the general slowdown in sales of electric cars and the growing competition, Elon Musk takes action and takes the drastic decision to downsize the electric car giant.
Drew Baglino, one of the key managers who leaves the company after 18 years, also leaves. A heavy loss which, together with the cuts, penalizes Tesla shares on Wall Street, where they lose almost 3%. «There is nothing I hate more, but it must be done. It will allow us to be more agile, innovative and hungry for the next phase of growth,” Tesla's CEO said in an email to employees announcing the cuts and explaining that they were necessary following the company's rapid growth is translated, among other things, into a "duplication of roles and functions in some areas".
A reduction in costs - Musk highlighted - is necessary to position the electric car giant to seize its next phase of growth and to increase productivity. Tesla's difficulties emerged forcefully in the fourth quarter, when it lost the scepter of world queen in terms of sales for electric cars. The overtaking of the Chinese BYD was a blow, followed in the first three months of the year by the first annual drop in sales since 2020. Problems that are part of a general slowdown in electric car sales worldwide, with consumers postponing purchases or prefer hybrid cars. The complicated picture agitates investors and Wall Street, where Tesla has lost 34% since the beginning of the year.
(Unioneonline/D)
