Businessman Elon Musk He rectified this Friday by stating that Tesla will only lay off 10% of the office staff, and not the entire company as he had pointed out on Thursday, causing a drop in the company’s stock market.
Shares of the US automaker closed in New York at $703.55, 9.22% below Thursday’s value.
Downsizing at Tesla
Musk sent a message to company officials on Thursday, which was leaked to the press. In the text he requested a 10% reduction in the workforce because he has a feeling that the economy will go through difficult times.
This Friday, in another email, this time sent to all Tesla employees, the businessman backed down. He explained that the job cut will only affect certain departments.
As revealed by the US network CNBC, Musk’s latest message indicates that Tesla will reduce 10% of its office staff because it considers that some areas are overstaffed.
“This does not apply to anyone who is assembling cars, battery packs, or installing solar panels,” Musk said. And he added that the workforce in those areas will actually increase.
Musk y Biden
Musk’s correction also comes following US President Joe Biden criticized the businessman for justifying his decision to lay off workers on a hunch regarding the hypothetical poor health of the economy.
Biden declared this Friday that while Tesla wants to cut jobs, competitors such as Ford or Stellantis announce billions of dollars of investments in the United States to increase their production and that they will create thousands of jobs.
Noting the job creation of Tesla’s rivals, the president wished Musk “good luck with his trip to the Moon.”
In the past, Biden has already faced the eccentric businessman, who in turn has aligned himself with positions defended by former president Donald Trump (2017-2021).
SpaceX
Musk responded to Biden on Twitter with a “thank you Mr. President!” and a NASA statement indicating that SpaceX, another company of the businessman, was chosen to transport American astronauts to the Moon.
In another tweet, Musk said that gerontocracy, referring to governments of the elderly, is a problem that might be solved by limiting the maximum age in the world of politics. Biden is 79 years old.
Remote work at Tesla is over
Two days ago Musk, the richest man in the world according to Forbestold Tesla workers to forget regarding working remotely and have to choose between spending a minimum of 40 hours a week in company offices or leaving the automaker.
“Anyone who wants to work remotely needs to be in the office for a minimum (and I want to emphasize ‘minimum’) of 40 hours a week or leave Tesla,” Musk said.
Musk justified his decision because, he said, the creation and production of the most interesting items on the planet cannot be done through phone calls.