Tesla could be forced to increase compensation for Gigafactory Berlin workers if it hopes to keep up with its hiring goals, said Germany’s largest labor union on Monday.
IG Metall is hearing complaints of inadequate or unequal wages from staff members at Tesla, according to a report from Bloomberg.
While the automaker has reportedly been hiring around 500-600 staff members per month, Regional IG Metall Chief Birgit Dietze says that auto workers are able to receive “considerably more” in other auto positions in the country than at Tesla.
In the statement, Dietze said Tesla’s hiring “isn’t progressing at the planned speed.” Birgit Dietze continued, “Many people would be interested in switching to Tesla, but ultimately decide against it, also because they sometimes earn considerably more in their current positions at other automotive companies.”
IG Metall says skilled workers at Tesla’s Giga Berlin plant are said to be getting 20% less in wages, compared to jobs at rival plants with union agreements, referring to its own analysis on the matter.
Tesla Fremont Factory Hits Daily Production Record; Berlin Nearly 1,000 Cars Last Week: Musk https://t.co/cNW7qY1pmk
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) June 12, 2022
Once hiring is complete, Tesla hopes to have 12,000 employees at the Grünheide, Germany factory, split across vehicle production and battery-making.
The news comes just a few weeks after Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the automaker would be cutting 10 percent of salaried staff, later following up to add that it would be increasing hourly staff.
Tesla’s Giga Berlin is currently producing over 1,000 cars per week and plans to expand the factory to add a freight station and more.
