BUFFALO, N.Y. — Two days after notifying employees that they were being laid off from their jobs, Tesla filed a WARN notice with New York State, saying that it is laying off 285 employees in Buffalo.
Some workers at the Tesla plant in South Buffalo got some very difficult news as they arrived for their early morning shift on Monday.
The Electrek website first reported they obtained a memo sent to staff from CEO Elon Musk which speaks of cost-trimming moves, including more than 10 percent global job cuts from the Tesla international workforce of an estimated just over 140,000 full-time positions at eight listed production facilities. So that means possibly about 14,000 lost jobs.
The South Buffalo factory, which New York State built originally as a $750 million solar panel plant in 2017, is now a leased facility, and has reportedly transitioned to be a producer of Tesla vehicle charging stations, vehicle wiring, and as a data collection and analysis center for its self-driving or autopilot systems for vehicles.
The autopilot program was recently boosted with the state announcement of the Tesla addition of a $500 million supercomputer to process massive amounts of information.
The last reported employment figure, according to Buffalo Business Report, citing required state reporting, was about 1,800 jobs. However, on the WARN notice, it stated there were a total of 2,032 employees.
One individual from the Buffalo plant told 2 On Your Side about being locked out of the corporate email account, met by security guards, and informed of dismissal after arriving early Monday morning for the start of a previously scheduled shift.
The person, who worked for about a year in a diverse plant staff, was told Human Resources would be in contact about severance pay.
Reuters reports other Tesla plants in Texas and California which actually produce Tesla EVs reported layoffs and normal 12 shifts were reduced by hours.
This may coincide with CNBC reporting Tesla stock fell 31 percent in recent months as the company's EV sales flattened out with more recognized competition for electric vehicle production from Chinese companies.
Tesla's actual report on first-quarter earnings is expected next week on April 23.
New York State Senator Sean Ryan issued a statement following news of the layoffs Wednesday.
“I am deeply concerned about Tesla’s significant layoffs at its factory in South Buffalo," he said. "Tesla is contractually obligated to meet specific employment targets.
"While Tesla is still above its employment benchmark agreement with New York State at this time, New York State should be prepared to impose fines on the company if layoffs continue. I will continue to monitor this situation and will do my part to ensure Tesla is held to the commitment it has made to Buffalo.”