Additional Coverage:
- Tesla tells some laid-off employees their separation agreements are canceled and new ones are on the way (newsbreak.com)
In an unexpected turn of events for the electric vehicle giant, several Tesla workers found themselves receiving notifications that their previously agreed upon separation packages were being nullified, with promises of new agreements to come. This surprising course of action follows acknowledgment from Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, that some of the severance packages offered to laid-off workers were mistakenly calculated to be lower than they should have been.
The issue came to light as disgruntled employees shared that the severance packages they were offered did not reflect the duration of their tenure with the company, raising concerns over the fairness and calculation methods used by Tesla. This has left many of the laid-off staff in limbo, with some reporting as of Thursday afternoon that they had yet to receive any information regarding their revised severance packages.
Tesla’s move to rescind the original separation agreements has sparked questions about the company’s adherence to labor laws, particularly the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. The law mandates that employers with over 100 employees must provide at least 60 days’ notice prior to any mass layoffs, a condition Tesla seems to be navigating with its announcement of cutting over 10% of its workforce, as declared by Musk.
Despite the controversy and the call for clarity from both former employees and the media, Tesla has remained tight-lipped. Requests for comments from Tesla spokespeople have gone unanswered, further clouding the situation for those affected by the layoffs.
As the Tesla workforce braces for the impact of these layoffs and the reevaluation of severance agreements, many are left wondering about the implications for their financial and professional futures. With no immediate response from Tesla’s management, the focus remains on Musk’s next move and how it will address the growing discontent among its former employees.