On the evening of June 8, Elon Musk spoke from the Tesla plant in Fremont, California, addressing a few dozen employees in person, and thousands more in a live broadcast.
It was the first time Musk had spoken to all employees since he announced the previous week that all administrative employees would be required to work 40 hours a week at Tesla’s office, and that 10% of the paid workforce would be laid off.
According to a press report , employees arrived at Tesla’s facility in Fremont, California to face a lack of parking space, no desk to sit, and poor wireless, and Musk clearly hadn’t thought about this.
Musk earlier this month cited overstaffing and concerns about the economy as reasons for hiring freezes and layoffs at a company level that includes both wage and hourly workers.
Paid workers make up about a third of the company’s employees. But it is unclear how many work in the office or at Tesla’s factories.
During the pandemic, most employees who used to report to Tesla’s Fremont headquarters, which consists of office buildings and a factory, stayed home until Musk called everyone back to work.
Tesla faces new problems after its employees return to work
Existing Tesla employees who returned to work struggled to find a parking spot at the Fremont headquarters. Some chose to park their cars at a nearby station instead, with them being transported by the company to work.
The report stated that some employees did not have a place to sit inside the offices, and the company decided to reuse certain areas of the office during the pandemic for other uses, and also did not take into account the presence of a larger team.
And the office situation was so bad that managers asked some employees to work from home. And even if the employees could sit down, the wireless signal was too weak to work.
It is clear that Musk himself thwarted his plan to bring Tesla employees back to work. At a meeting at the factory on June 8, Musk said he planned to come to the office at least six days a week.
Musk told executives they must come to the office for at least 40 hours a week or quit.
The billionaire said the move was part of an effort to promote equality between factory workers and CEOs. Workers have been asked to work in person throughout the pandemic.
Musk is also busy buying Twitter and making problems with the company about the number of bots it has. He made his feelings known about remote working at Twitter as well, that only those exceptional people who are doing an excellent job will allow it.
