By Robert Burnson
Tesla Inc. was sued by a former employee who claims the company’s decision to lay off about 10% of its workforce in a global retrenchment violated the law by failing to provide required advance notice.
Tesla “acted intentionally and with deliberate indifference and conscious disregard to the rights of its employees” by not giving a warning 60 days ahead as mandated by California law, according to the complaint filed in state court in San Jose, California.
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Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk revealed the job cuts last week in an email to staff, citing duplication of roles and the need to reduce costs. It was projected that if the dismissals apply company-wide, they would amount to more than 14,000 employees.
The electric-car maker faced similar claims when it laid off more than 500 employees at its battery factory near Reno, Nevada, in 2022. The company won a ruling that pushed the dispute out of federal court in Austin, Texas, and into arbitration.