(Reuters) The shares of electric carmaker Tesla fell more than 8% on Friday after CEO Elon Musk said he needs to trim 10% of jobs in the company.
The emailed statement to Tesla executives pointed out that Musk had a “super bad feeling” about the economy, which influenced the cut. Musk called for the executives to “pause all hiring worldwide.”
The call by Musk comes just two days after he told Tesla’s staff to return to the workplace or leave.
The move by Tesla underlines a tough operation environment, with the CEO recently warning about the recession risks. Despite this, demand for Tesla calls remains high, although the company has struggled with production at the Shanghai factory due to Covid outbreaks.
NordLB analyst Frank Schwope responded to Musk’s move, saying that it is good to introduce austerity measures in good times rather than in bad times. He says Musk’s statement is a precautionary move.
Tesla had nearly 100,000 employees, including at its subsidiaries, at the end of 2021.
TSLA: NASDAQ is down -8.70%.
