We now know more about where Tesla is slashing jobs

Elon Musk told staff Tesla was cutting more than 10% of its workforce. Spencer Platt/Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI

• Tesla has laid off 280 workers at its Buffalo, New York, facility.
• Elon Musk told Tesla staff he was cutting more than 10% of the company’s workforce.
• The Buffalo site is used for training driver-assist software and making energy-storage products.

A regulatory filing lends more insight into Tesla’s recent layoffs.

The company has laid off 280 workers at its facility in Buffalo, New York — or about 14% of the workers at the site — according to a regulatory filing in the state under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The WARN Act requires most companies with more than 100 employees to provide 60 days of notice before a large-scale layoff.

The 280 Buffalo workers are part of larger layoffs across Tesla. On Sunday night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told staff the company was cutting more than 10% of its workforce. Within hours, laid-off workers were notified their employment had been terminated, effective immediately.

The layoffs appear to have affected workers across the country, as well as some staff at Tesla’s international offices. Two of Tesla’s largest factories are in California and Texas, both of which were included in the layoffs.

Tesla’s Buffalo site is used for the company’s data analysis to train its Autopilot and so-called Full Self-Driving software. The facility also produces Tesla’s solar panels, electric-vehicle charging equipment, and energy-storage components.

On Wednesday, Tesla began sending out severance packages to some workers who’d been laid off. Five workers told Business Insider they were offered severance packages that were equal to two months’ pay. Tesla’s severance offer could address penalties if it was found to have violated the WARN Act, which says laid-off employees are entitled to up to 60 days of pay and benefits if not given proper notice.

A spokesperson for Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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