Tesla has laid off about 8% of its employees in the past week, CNBC reports, citing current and former Tesla employees. The employees estimated the size of the layoffs based on internal Tesla data, according to CNBC.
A Tesla representative told Business Insider that the size of the layoff reported by CNBC was incorrect.
Read more: Tesla has reportedly not decided where it will build the Model Y SUV
Tesla said on February 28 that it would close many of its stores and convert remaining stores into galleries and information centers as it shifts to an online-only sales model. The move would lead to layoffs, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during a conference call that followed the announcement, though he declined to specify the size of the layoffs. He said the layoffs were part of a cost-cutting effort designed to make a price reduction for Tesla's Model 3 sedan financially feasible.
The most recent round of layoffs is Tesla's third in the past year. The automaker followed a 9% workforce reduction in June with a 7% cut in January. Musk suggested in a June email to employees that the automaker would never again have to initiate another round of layoffs.
"I also want to emphasize that we are making this hard decision now so that we never have to do this again," Musk said at the time.
Tesla said in a February regulatory filing that it had 48,817 full-time employees at the end of 2018. A Tesla representative said the automaker had over 40,000 full-time employees, as of the week of March 4.
Read CNBC's full report here.
Were you affected by the Tesla layoffs? Have a Tesla news tip? Contact this reporter at mmatousek@bjinnox.com.
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