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Tesla is slashing the number of workers at its Nevada Gigafactory by about 75 percent as the coronavirus pandemic roils the company’s manufacturing operations, local officials say. The electric-car maker told officials in the surrounding Storey County that it would cut its on-site staff at the Reno-area factory “in the coming days,” county manager Austin …
Tesla is slashing the number of workers at its Nevada Gigafactory by about 75 percent as the coronavirus pandemic roils the company’s manufacturing operations, local officials say.
The electric-car maker told officials in the surrounding Storey County that it would cut its on-site staff at the Reno-area factory “in the coming days,” county manager Austin Osborne said in a Thursday statement. The plant produces battery packs and electric motors for the Model 3 sedan, Tesla’s most popular car.
The move came after Panasonic, which makes batteries at the factory in partnership with Tesla, said it would cut back operations there this week before shutting down altogether for two weeks.
It’s not clear how long Tesla’s staff reduction will last, how many employees it affects or whether they will be paid during their time off. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday morning.
The Nevada factory is just the latest Tesla facility to have its operations reduced amid the coronavirus crisis that has forced businesses across the US to shut down.
The automaker suspended production last week at its car factory in the San Francisco Bay Area after a dispute with local officials about whether it was an essential business that could keep running normally under an order meant to stem the spread of the virus. Tesla also temporarily stopped production at its solar roof tile plant in Buffalo, New York, where the state has imposed similar measures.
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak also ordered non-essential businesses to shut down last week, but the Storey County sheriff said Tesla’s plant could remain open because it was “part of the supply chain,” according to the Reno Gazette Journal.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has raised eyebrows earlier this month when he called panic about the deadly coronavirus “dumb.” He has since started donating ventilators to help treat virus patients.
With Post wires
