Tesla global job cuts hit China sales team

TESLA’S global job cuts are hitting China, the automaker’s biggest market after the United States, affecting staff in teams including sales, two sources briefed on the matter said.

CEO Elon Musk on Monday (Apr 15) told staff in an internal memo seen by Reuters that the company is laying off more than 10 per cent of its global workforce, as it grapples with falling sales and an intensifying price war for electric vehicles.

The two sources said some staff in Tesla’s China sales team were being notified, with one of the them saying more than 10 per cent were losing their jobs. The second source said other teams were also impacted.

Tesla China did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Both sources declined to be named as they were not permitted to speak to media.

The Shanghai and Beijing local governments did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Tesla’s largest plant globally is based in Shanghai, while its China head office is in Beijing.

The cuts come as Tesla is facing increasing competition in China, the world’s largest auto market, where it has been locked in a fierce price war with rivals led by BYD that have been rolling out new models at speed.

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The global cuts are a sign of cost pressures as Tesla invests in new models and artificial intelligence, analysts at Gartner and Hargreaves Lansdown said on Monday.

Tesla reported this month that its global vehicle deliveries in the first quarter fell for the first time in nearly four years. REUTERS