Tesla shrinks headcount again, lays off 200 Autopilot employees

Tesla has laid off more employees this week. 200 employees, who were training the company’s Autopilot AI system were let go. This is part of the ongoing efforts by the CEO, Elon Musk, to cut about 10% of employees across the board to reduce the company’s overall operating costs.

Musk first stated that these cuts would only occur to salary-based employees; however, that is no longer the case. All the employees working on labeling data are entry-level and hourly employees making low pay.

Tesla’s San Mateo office had a headcount of 276 before the layoffs. Now the office only employs a total of 81 employees. Automakers in the past have taken these low-paying and entry-level jobs overseas to save money.

In response, angry ex-employees are firing back against Tesla regarding the recent layoffs. Some claim that the layoffs are illegal under federal law since Musk and Tesla did not provide a 60-day notice. However, Tesla is holding their ground, stating that the employees were fired because of performance.

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