More than 6,000 workers at Tesla plants in Texas and California were told this week they will layed off in June because of falling demand for the firm’s electric vehicles.
Tesla plans to cut 2,688 jobs at the Austin plant and 3,332 positions in California. The employees will get their layoff notices starting June 14 according to notices required under a U.S. labor law.
The nearly 2,700 workers at the gigafactory on the east side of Austin represents about 12% of the total workforce at the factory. Tesla had nearly 23,000 workers at the Austin plant at the end of 2023, nearly double the 12,277 reported at the end of 2022.
The layoffs are another sign of the struggles EV makers are having. Tesla already had cut the price of its “Full Self Driving” system by nearly a third, from $12,000 to $8,000 according to the Associated Press.
Last week, the company took steps to cut $2,000 from its prices for the firm’s Model Y, X and S vehicles. It also had to recall 3,878 of its 2024 Cybertrucks.
In recent days, the layoffs and price cuts were reflected in the value of Tesla stock. Values dropped below $150 per share and as a result, most of the gains made in the past year were wiped out. Overall, Tesla stock has dropped 40% this year.