Tesla fires hundreds of workers: reports

Electric-car maker Tesla Inc. fired hundreds of employees this week, including engineers, managers and factory workers, according to news reports.

The dismissals come as the company is pushing to significantly boost production of its mass-market Model 3 sedan. Tesla

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 produced just 260 of the vehicles in the last quarter. Chief Executive Elon Musk has said he expects the company to produce 5,000 Model 3 cars a week by the end of the year.

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The company told the Mercury News of San Jose, Calif., which first reported the firings on Friday, that the dismissals were the result of a companywide annual review and that they were not layoffs. A spokesman told the newspaper that some workers received promotions and bonuses and that Tesla expects to hire for the “vast majority” of new vacancies.

The newspaper reported that former and current employees said there was little or no warning ahead of the dismissals, with workers estimating between 400 and 700 employees were fired, including trained engineers working on vehicle design and production, a supervisor, and factory employees. Tesla refused to say how many employees were let go, but the spokesman said most of the dismissals were administrative and sales positions, and outside of manufacturing, the report said. The spokesman also said the company expects employee turnover to be similar to that seen last year.

Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the news reports.