Tesla puts the majority of its sales and delivery staff on furlough

Tesla told employees today that the majority of its sales and delivery staff are going to be on furlough starting on Monday.

As we reported earlier this week, Tesla announced to employees they are implementing temporary pay cuts and putting employees on furlough due to the coronavirus crisis.

In an email obtained by Electrek, Tesla’s head of HR explained that all salaried employees that can work from home or are assigned “critical roles” are taking a temporary pay cut from 10% to 30% depending on their level in Tesla’s payscale.

The rest would be put on furlough without pay and would rely on unemployment.

Now sources in Tesla’s sales and delivery organization say that the automaker announced today that virtually all hourly employees that have been at the company for less than two years will be put on furlough until things get back to normal.

With Tesla’s relatively high turnover in sales and delivery, it results in the majority of its staff on furlough.

Several sources told Electrek that around two-thirds of their teams have been put on furlough, while others say that almost 80% of the staff have been told not to show up starting on Monday.

Only salaried sales and delivery employees, which consists of assistant managers and managers, are staying on, and sales and delivery advisers who have been at the company for more than two years.

Like in the email sent to employees earlier this week, furloughed employees are being told that they will get their jobs back once Tesla goes back to production, which the company believes is going to be on May 4.

However, Tesla is basing that on the end of the shelter-in-place order in the Bay Area, and that could be extended.

Today, they announced that it is extended to May 15 in Los Angeles.

Electrek’s Take

Based on what I’m hearing from employees, it sounds like 60 to 80% of sales and delivery staff are on furlough, depending on the region.

In some higher demand markets, it’s lower and in other slower markets, it’s higher.

Those employees are going to rely on unemployment to get some income during the shutdown. My heart goes out to them in those difficult times because I know it’s hard to get an unemployment check right now with the extremely high demand.

Also for the ones still working, they are also facing a difficult situation, since in many jurisdictions, they are limited in what they can do because of car sales and deliveries not being considered “essential business.”

I hope this gets all resolved quickly, but I think Tesla might be a bit too optimistic about May 4.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.