- Tesla employees are concerned that layoffs could begin as early as this weekend.
- This follows earlier rumors in February that Tesla had temporarily postponed its performance review.
- Tesla's first-quarter deliveries fell short of Wall Street expectations.
Some Tesla employees fear layoffs could be imminent as early as this weekend.
Seven engineers, including those at the Austin Gigafactory and Fremont factory, told Business Insider that rumors are flying around Tesla's offices that layoffs are imminent. There has been no official communication to teams, but some workers said they had heard that layoffs could begin as early as Sunday.
Two other workers said they had not heard anything about the layoffs, and others said they were not taking the layoffs very seriously.
“It's been whispered about and some people are concerned, but you know how quickly misinformation can spread in a company this big,” said one engineer.
A Tesla spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
This is the second time in recent months that concerns about potential layoffs have been raised at Tesla. During February, The automaker reportedly asked managers to begin identifying the roles most important to the company. At the same time, Tesla also delayed performance reviews for some employees, Bloomberg reported. The review was later rescheduled, three people told Business Insider.
Workers across the tech industry are likely to be on high alert for any signs of potential layoffs. Several major tech companies, including Google and Microsoft, have already cut jobs this year. EV rivals like Rivian and Fisker are also laying off workers in 2024.
And Tesla has faced strong headwinds recently.
Tesla's first quarter The number of shipments revealed a slump in sales., for example. The company's vehicle deliveries were down 20% quarter over quarter and more than 8% year over year, and the company's sales declined year over year for the first time since 2020.
Do you work for Tesla or Chip? Contact the reporter using a non-work email and device: gkay@businessinsider.com.
