After a pair of former Tesla Nevada employees sued the automaker over job cuts, CEO Elon Musk says the layoffs will actually affect a smaller amount of employees than many expect.
Musk said that the job cuts at Tesla will affect only 3.5 percent of Tesla’s total workforce, saying that the actual amount is “not super material,” speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum virtually on early Tuesday.
Musk said last week in an email that Tesla would be cutting 10 percent of salaried staff, later adding in a tweet that the automaker will actually be increasing the number of hourly workers it has.
The layoffs are expected to take place over the next three months or so.
Watch the full replay of Musk speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum below:
The full forum reply is below:
Watch @elonmusk live at the Qatar Economic Forumhttps://t.co/0ZGZMUSiSD
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) June 21, 2022
Musk also stated that he has a “super bad feeling” about the U.S. economy prior to the announcement of job cuts.
Additionally, Musk dismissed the Tuesday lawsuit from former employees, saying it has “no standing.”
Musk said, “That is a small lawsuit of minor consequence.” Musk continued, “Anything that relates to Tesla gets big headlines, whether it is a bicycle accident or something much more serious.”
In addition to the Tesla lawsuits, Musk is currently facing suits alleging a toxic workplace culture and over Dogecoin pumps, in addition to a racial discrimination lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
