According to CCTV Finance citing Reuters on April 15th, CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, stated in a memo to employees that the company will implement a global workforce reduction of 10%, potentially affecting about 14,000 employees.
As of 8:30 PM Beijing time on April 15th, Tesla's stock price fell by 1.32% in pre-market trading.
In the internal memo, Musk mentioned that the company has identified redundancies in certain areas and personnel, and is preparing for the next phase of growth. Therefore, to lower costs and enhance efficiency, a decision has been made to reduce the global workforce by 10%.
According to Tesla's latest filing submitted to regulatory authorities, as of December last year, the company had over 140,000 employees worldwide. This workforce reduction will impact over 14,000 employees.
This marks Tesla's fifth major workforce reduction since 2017. Reportedly, in 2017, the company reduced its workforce by 2%. Subsequently, in 2018, 2019, and 2022, the team was downsized by 9%, 7%, and 3% respectively.
Tesla Quarterly Deliveries
First Decline in 4 Years
According to data released by Tesla, the company's vehicle deliveries for the first quarter of this year fell by 8.5% year-on-year to approximately 386,800 units. This marks the first decline for Tesla in nearly four years and falls below market expectations. Musk had previously suggested that Tesla's growth rate in 2024 might be significantly lower than that of 2023.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
According to the Associated Press, Tesla's sales were even lower than the most pessimistic estimates by Wall Street analysts. Automotive industry analysts had previously forecasted Tesla's first-quarter deliveries to reach 457,000 vehicles. Tesla is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings report on April 23, with the decline in electric vehicle sales prompting analysts to lower their profit forecasts for the company.
Tesla attributed part of the sales decline to production interruptions caused by the Model 3 redesign, disruptions in shipping due to tense situations in maritime trade, and a power outage at Tesla's German factory last month caused by deliberate arson targeting high-voltage power pylons.
Image Source: Xinhua News Agency
Meanwhile, according to the Associated Press, growth in the U.S. electric vehicle market is slowing down. Electric car sales in the country increased by 47% to 1.19 million units last year, with the electric vehicle market share rising to 7.6%. However, growth slowed towards the end of the year, with December sales increasing by 34% year-on-year.
Sources: CCTV Finance, Xinhua News Agency, Beijing Daily, etc.
