UNITED STATES: Tesla’s Shanghai factory employees took to their social media handles to appeal to CEO Elon Musk and the Chinese people after being informed at the weekend regarding reductions to their performance bonuses, as per an online post and employees who spoke to the media.
A number of the posts said that they thought the deductions were related to a deadly accident earlier this year at the facility, its largest worldwide, and lambasted Tesla for the reductions.
The incident represents a sporadic outburst of discontent at Tesla’s Shanghai facility, whose employees Musk commended last year for burning “the 3 a.m. oil” to keep things operating during the city’s two-month COVID lockdown.
It happens at a time when Tesla has been reducing prices in a number of places, notably China, where demand has been waning, raising questions about its leading profit margin in the sector.
Late last week, the postings started to appear on forums like Baidu Tieba. Some people used the Musk-owned and China-blocked Twitter platform to tweet about the billionaire, his mother, Maye Musk, and Tesla.
In a tweet addressed to Elon Musk and Tesla’s Asia division, a user going by the name @AFeiywu said, “Please pay attention to the performance bonus of frontline workers at Tesla’s Shanghai factory being arbitrarily deducted.”
Two employees at the facility, where Tesla employs roughly 20,000 people, told the media that they were warned over the weekend by their supervisors about a reduction to their quarterly incentive payout, which is connected to the performance of the factory.
When the Tesla employees were questioned about the causes of the bonus drop, they said that Tesla supervisors referred to a “safety incident.” Out of worry for their employment, they opted not to be named.
Online posts stated that employees at the Shanghai company were being unfairly punished for an incident that occurred at the firm in February of this year and resulted in the death of one worker.
On February 4, a mechanical accident in the welding workshop of Tesla’s Shanghai facility resulted in the death of one employee, according to a report released by the regional Pudong administration on April 12.
According to the findings of the local government’s investigation, the deceased employee was personally accountable for the tragedy, and there had been a safety management oversight at Tesla that had contributed to it.
His mother, Maye Musk, is a model with a fan base in China. She just wrapped up a two-week tour of the nation, during which she toured the Shanghai plant and promoted her memoir.
Some employees claimed in online posts that their quarterly incentives had been reduced by about 2,000 yuan ($291.19).
Base salaries at the Shanghai facility start at about 5,340 yuan per month, with some employees earning more through overtime, shift work, and annual and quarterly bonuses.
Before tax, workers can make between 110,000 and 120,000 yuan a year, including incentives and overtime pay, as per a job posting on the official Wechat account of the state-owned Lingang Group, which offers hiring services to businesses in the area. The remuneration is competitive with that of other Chinese and foreign manufacturers in the area.
Aidan Chau, a researcher at the China Labour Bulletin in Hong Kong, said that it wasn’t unusual for businesses to reprimand workers following a workplace disaster, but that it typically came out of a safety bonus.
“Deducting the performance bonus, which should be related to workers’ output and has nothing to do with work safety, is even more unfair,” stated Chau.
On Wednesday, Tesla is expected to release its first-quarter financial figures. Investors and analysts will be paying close attention to how its round of price cuts on its electric vehicles has affected the company’s profitability.
It expanded the price-cutting campaign it started in China in January by slashing electric vehicle costs in Europe, Israel, and Singapore on Friday.
Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer, Zach Kirkhorn, stated last quarter that the firm anticipates maintaining a gross margin of 20% on cars, excluding leases and regulatory credits, with an average selling price for its EVs exceeding $47,000 globally.
Also Read: Tesla Increases Sales by Lowering Prices in Europe, Singapore, and Israel
