Tesla plans to lay off more than 10% of workforce as sales slump
CBSApr 15
Tesla to Lay Off More than 10% of Staff Globally
The Facts
According to an email sent to Tesla employees on Monday, the company — one of the world's largest automakers — is laying off over 10% of its global workforce, reportedly due to falling sales.
In the memo, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company is looking to achieve "cost reductions and increasing productivity" in preparation for the "next phase of growth."
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
While layoffs are always unfortunate, they are not always avoidable. Cutting down the workforce is a necessary step to optimizing Tesla's growth and productivity. The company must focus on future innovation to remain competitive, and this cost-cutting measure is just one step towards doing that.
Establishment-critical narrative
Tesla has made poor strategic decisions, and mistakenly thought that growth in the electric vehicle sector would continue the way it was forever. Instead of taking responsibility for his poor business acumen, Elon Musk is attributing the layoffs to plans for company growth.
Nerd narrative
There's a 10% chance that Tesla will become the largest car company in the world (by sales) before 2035, according to the Metaculus prediction community.