Tesla punctuates layoffs with apparent hiring freeze

Tesla removed virtually all of the more than 3,000 open positions that were posted to its jobs board earlier this week in what appears to be a company-wide hiring freeze, Quartz reported Wednesday. As of Thursday morning, only three positions remained posted, all for the company’s “Manufacturing Development Program” — an internship that appears to include several perks with no mention of any sort of wage. So if you really want to work for Tesla, it appears you can do so for free. 

The American EV builder has been slashing jobs since publishing its disappointing Q1 earnings report. Tesla aims to eliminate 10% of its headcount in an effort to eliminate costs. Per Reuters, the company had more than 140,000 employees globally at the end of 2023.

The first round of cuts included two executives and 500 members of the company’s Supercharger division, which is responsible for the company’s fast-charging network. The second round saw layoffs in Tesla’s software, service and engineering departments. 

Amidst the cuts, Rich Otto, Tesla’s now former head of product launches, announced he too left the company via a public post on the LinkedIn social platform, saying the company had taken “its pound of flesh.”

“Great companies are made up of equal parts great people and great products, and the latter are only possible when its people are thriving,” Otto said. “The recent layoffs that are rocking the company and its morale have thrown this harmony out of balance and it’s hard to see the long-game. It was time for a change.”

“I was lucky enough to work across many of the engineering, design, manufacturing, creative, and sales teams that make our cars possible, and I’ve loved the opportunity to lead how we introduced these products to the world,” he said.

Per Quartz, Tesla still had several hundred jobs posted on the professional platform as of Wednesday.