Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc., has admitted that some severance payments sent to former employees following a notable workforce reduction were incorrectly low. Musk sent a brief email to employees on Wednesday acknowledging the mistake and promising immediate corrections.
The email comes in the wake of Tesla announcing a reduction in its global workforce by more than 10% as the company faces slowing demand for electric vehicles. Former employees have shared stories on social media of being abruptly fired, with one former production supervisor, Nico Murillo, recounting how he was told he was fired by a security guard when he arrived at work.
In the midst of these job cuts, Senior Vice President Drew Baglino has resigned from the company. It is unclear if his departure is related to Tesla’s broader problems, including missing auto delivery expectations and a potential decline in sales throughout the year.
Musk, who is facing criticism for his handling of the layoffs, has accepted mistakes in compensation and is working to make immediate corrections. Meanwhile, analysts are preparing for sales to potentially decline as Tesla faces challenges with production of its latest model, the Cybertruck.
Baglino, who has netted about $96 million from periodic stock sales since being named senior vice president, has been described as a pleasant engineer with an easy laugh. Despite tensions in his early meetings with Musk, he ultimately acknowledged the CEO’s calculations about battery cells as correct.
Overall, the situation at Tesla remains uncertain as the company navigates workforce reductions and other challenges in the electric vehicle market.