Tesla layoffs include 14% of Buffalo workers, WARN notice shows

A Tesla sign is pictured outside the Tesla Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo, New York, U.S., February 13, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

(Reuters) -Tesla will lay off 285 employees in Buffalo, New York, as part of its plans to trim 10% of its global workforce, the electric-vehicle maker said in a legally mandated notice on Wednesday.

Under pressure from falling sales and an intensifying price war for EVs, Tesla announced its latest round of jobs cuts on Monday in an internal memo that was seen by Reuters.

The notice on Wednesday was issued under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act which requires employers to provide a 60-day notice before layoffs.

It said that the layoffs will start on July 15 and that they were due to “economic” reasons. Tesla has a total of 2,032 employees across the two impacted sites in Buffalo, meaning that the cuts will affect about 14% of its workers there.

Musk last announced a round of job cuts in 2022, after telling executives he had a “super bad feeling” about the economy. Still, Tesla headcount has risen from around 100,000 in late 2021 to over 140,000 in late 2023, according to filings with U.S. regulators.

The layoffs follow an exclusive Reuters report on April 5 that Tesla had cancelled a long-promised inexpensive car, expected to cost $25,000, that investors have been counting on to drive mass-market growth. Musk had said the car, known as the Model 2, would start production in late 2025.

The logo of a Tesla electric vehicle is placed on a car outside a dealership in Drogenbos, Belgium November 25, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

Shortly after the story published, Musk posted “Reuters is lying” on his social media site X, without detailing any inaccuracies. He has not commented on the car since, leaving investors and analysts to speculate on its future.

Tesla has been slow to refresh its aging models as high interest rates have sapped consumer appetite for big-ticket items, while rivals in China, the world’s largest auto market, are rolling out cheaper models.

(Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)