Some employees at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Shanghai have taken to social media to express concerns about planned performance bonus cuts. The workers have expressed fears that the decision to cut their quarterly bonus payout is related to the death of a worker at the plant in February.
@elonmusk @Tesla_Asia
请关注特斯拉上海工厂一线工人的表现被任意扣除Please pay attention to the performance of frontline workers at Tesla's Shanghai factory being arbitrarily deducted
— a bc (@AFeiywu) April 16, 2023
According to local media reports, an accident in the welding workshop on April 12th led to the death of an employee. The report stated that Tesla’s safety management protocols were found to be indirectly responsible for the incident, while the deceased worker was directly responsible. (via Reuters)
Some of the employees have alleged that Tesla’s Shanghai plant workers are being unfairly penalized for the accident, and their quarterly bonuses have been cut by around ¥2,000 ($390CAD/$291USD). According to a recruitment post on the official WeChat account of the state-owned Lingang Group, which offers hiring services to companies in the region, workers at Gigafactory Shanghai can earn approximately ¥110,000-¥120,000 per year before tax, including bonuses and overtime pay.
After reports of the bonus cuts made headlines on Monday morning, CEO Elon Musk said he was looking into the matter after being alerted to it over the weekend.
Was alerted this weekend. Looking into it.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 17, 2023
On Wednesday, Tesla is set to disclose its first-quarter results, and investors and analysts will be closely monitoring how the recent price reductions on its electric vehicles, including in China, have impacted the company’s industry-leading margins. Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer, Zach Kirkhorn, has previously stated that the company aims to maintain a 20% gross margin on its electric vehicle business with an average global sale price above $47,000USD.
