Vehicles parked outside Tesla Inc.’s solar panel factory in Buffalo, New York, U.S., on Wednesday, December 26, 2018.
Andrew Haller Bloomberg | Getty Images
Tesla has announced it will lay off 285 employees in New York state as part of a broader restructuring. A warning notice has been filed state. Most of those employees worked at the company’s Buffalo plant, with a small number working at stores and service centers in the area, according to filings.
Earlier this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent a companywide memo saying Tesla would cut more than 10% of its global workforce. Tesla has released few details about the job cuts, other than a leaked memo saying the cuts will help “prepare the company” for its “next phase of growth.”
The layoffs disclosed in Buffalo represent a 14% reduction in headcount.
Tesla took over the Buffalo factory after completing its $2.6 billion acquisition of solar installation company SolarCity in 2017.
Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity was widely criticized as a rescue plan for an ailing solar power business with deep ties to Tesla’s CEO and board of directors. Musk funded SolarCity and co-founded it with his cousins Lyndon Leib and Peter Leib, of which he served as chairman. Another of Mr. Musk’s companies, SpaceX, had bought SolarCity’s bonds and would have lost its investment had the company gone bankrupt.
Empire State taxpayers contributed around it The Buffalo plant will cost $1 billion to build, including equipment purchases, and is expected to help create thousands of high-tech jobs in the region. Tesla has announced it will make solar panels at its Buffalo factory, but efforts to grow its solar business have faltered for years.
Tesla will introduce solar power in 2023 I refused The total was 223 MW, down 36% from 348 MW a year ago. This is Tesla’s lowest solar installation since 2020, when it reported 205 megawatts.
Tesla’s energy division still generates the majority of its revenue through the sale of backup batteries (also known as battery energy storage systems) used in home, business, and utility-sized projects.
Instead of manufacturing solar panels as its main business in Buffalo, Tesla assembles Supercharger equipment there and previously moved part of its Autopilot data labeling team to Buffalo. The company also told shareholders it would manufacture supercomputer hardware in Buffalo.
Early this month, Reuters reported Tesla is focusing on robotaxi technology and scrapping plans to produce more affordable EVs.
On Tuesday afternoon, Musk wrote: post In his social network
Tesla has announced whether the company will stick to its 2023 “master plan,” which laid out “a proposed path to achieving a sustainable global energy economy through end-use electrification and sustainable power generation and storage.” It hasn’t been revealed yet.
Tesla is scheduled to discuss its first-quarter results with shareholders on April 23, at which time executives are expected to provide further details about its upcoming reorganization and strategy.
