Tesla Reaches 5,000 Employees at Giga Berlin, Ahead of Two-Shift System: Report

As Tesla’s Gigafactory in Berlin continues to ramp up production, the automaker could now be readying to add another shift to its production day.

Tesla may add a second shift at its Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg in August, adding to the factory’s number of employees, according to a report this week from German publication RBB 24 (via @SawyerMerritt).

Giga Berlin currently employs around 5,000 people, but that number should increase significantly throughout the month as the automaker adds an occupied second shift.

In addition to a move to two shifts, Tesla eventually plans to run the factory for 24 hours a day using a third shift.

The Grünheide Tesla facility paused production to upgrade production capacity for the last few weeks, reportedly in part due to one of its casting machines needing parts replaced.

Earlier this week, Tesla’s Brandenburg-Berlin Gigafactory had castings lying everywhere on the facility’s exterior parking lots.

Tesla’s Giga Berlin is looking to produce 3,000 Model Y units per week by October, upon adding a third shift. This move is expected to have Giga Berlin running at about 80 percent of its total capacity. Tesla also hopes to produce 5,000 cars per week at Giga Berlin by the first quarter of 2023.

Giga Berlin also produced its first Model Y with 4680 battery cells last month.