Tesla: No Mass Layoffs In China Within Near Future
There won’t be any mass layoffs in China, according to Tesla’s communications director in China, in contradiction to recent reports from the country claiming that Tesla was going to fire ~30% of its labor force after missing its 2014 sales goals.
So why would reports that Tesla was going to downsize, after missing sales goals, get so much coverage if they aren’t true? Hmm, a number of possibilities there…
“It is pure speculation,” stated communications director Gary Tao. “There were some staff changes at the start of the year but now the changes have been basically finished.”
These “staff changes” were initiated by the company’s Chinese management, not the stateside management (e.g., Elon Musk), Tao noted, which is in direct contrast to reports from various Chinese newspapers which claimed that they were ordered by Musk.
The intention of the changes, according to Tao, was to build a better, stronger team — one which could respond more quickly and effectively to the Chinese marketplace.
“Now the China team is stable and steady,” Tao commented. He declined, though, to offer specific figures with regard to the current number of employees in the country.
According to Tao, there’s not currently a sales goal for 2015 in China, but the company is “very confident” in its future success in the market — and is continuing to rapidly develop charging infrastructure and services in the country.
One final thing worth noting: Tao also emphatically denied that Apple was considering purchasing Tesla Motors, despite recent rumors. Not that that rumor seemed to have much to it, but, still, worth noting.
Image Credit: Tesla Motors
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Latest CleanTechnica.TV Video
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
