Hundreds Of Panasonic Employees To Begin Working At Tesla Gigafactory This Fall
Panasonic will be sending hundreds of its employees to begin working at Tesla’s Gigafactory later this fall, according to recent reports — meaning that many/most of the first workers at the production facility will be via the battery manufacturing partner, rather than Tesla.
The Panasonic workers will aid in the gearing-up of the facility for battery cell production — which, considering that the lithium-ion battery production plant will be the largest in the world once completed, will clearly take quite a bit of work.
“We’ll need hundreds of people at the start,” stated the head of Panasonic’s automotive and industrial systems division, Yoshio Ito.
This move is as part of the battery manufacturer’s broader support of the project — which will also see it invest at least $92 million into the project.
These first workers will reportedly be bringing with them the equipment necessary for battery cell fabrication — which is set to account for around half of the facility’s total floor space. Thes rest of the facility will be occupied by assembly lines for battery + module packs, and by suppliers.
With the completion of the Gigafactory edging closer by the day, the day when the “affordable” Model 3 will be released also edges closer (though I admit that with Tesla’s love of delays, it may still be some time off…). It should certainly be an interesting next couple of years for Tesla. I’m expecting its stock to go a bit bipolar at times, so I think there will probably be opportunities there for those so inclined… not that I’m recommending anything.
Image Credit: Screen Capture
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