U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc. reportedly has furloughed around half of its U.S. sales and delivery employees this week.
CNBC reported the furloughs, citing three people who work for the company in different states. These people requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with press. A Tesla spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment, CNBC said.
“Tesla revealed its plans to furlough all but essential hourly workers, and to cut salaried employee pay, in an e-mail to employees on Tuesday. The decision was driven by a global pandemic that has forced CEO Elon Musk’s electric car venture to temporarily halt production at its main U.S. car plant in California,” CNBC said.
“Tesla told employees it expects to resume car production on May 4, although there has been no indication from officials in California that nonessential businesses will be allowed to reopen by then,” CNBC said.
Workers in sales and delivery have been furloughed by rank and tenure, not on the basis of performance, according to the employees.
The news came hours after Tesla (TSLA) said it has started China sales of two more Model 3 variants built at its Shanghai plant, meaning all Model 3 sedans sold in the country are now locally made and not subject to import tax.
The development comes at the tail end of a Sino-U.S. trade war characterized by tit-for-tat tariffs on goods and services as varied as metals and cars, which bumped up prices of U.S. made goods in China, Reuters explained.
It also comes after Tesla suspended production at its San Francisco Bay Area plant due to the broader impact of the coronavirus, with plans to resume normal operation on May 4.
Tesla said it aims to start delivering Shanghai-made Long Range Model 3 cars from June this year, priced 339,050 yuan after subsidies.
The rear-wheel drive variant, with a driving range of over 600 kilometers before needing to be recharged, differs from the imported version which was all-wheel drive and priced 439,900 yuan.
The locally made Performance Model 3, for which deliveries are slated for the first quarter next year, will be priced 419,800 yuan, the California-based automaker said without specifying the price after subsidies. Imported Performance Model 3 vehicles were priced 509,900 yuan.
The move contrasts with a previous plan from Tesla's billionaire chief executive, Elon Musk, under which the automaker would only make more affordable versions of the Model 3 sedan at its $2 billion Shanghai factory.
Tesla sold 10,160 vehicles in China in March, versus 3,900 in February, marking its highest-ever monthly sales in the world's largest auto market, industry data showed.
Tesla also said it will cut the pay of global vice presidents in China by 30% and that of China-based director-level executives by 20%, to be consistent with operations in the United States. Salaries of other China-based staff are unchanged, it said.
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