(Credit: Shutterstock/Christopher Lyzcen.)
Is Tesla the next big tech company to conduct layoffs? Bloomberg reports that managers at the EV maker have been asked to decide which of their employees are crucial to Tesla's success.
Tesla's website states that its policy is to conduct performance reviews twice a year, where employees are rated on a one to five scale. If staffers don't make the cut, they are fired. This year, Tesla has reportedly canceled some performance reviews, and sent a "single-line query for each job" to each team, Reuters says.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk became more involved in Tesla's hiring process, stating that any new hires require his express permission via email to join the company. Tesla has had hiring freezes in the past, and currently had 140,473 employees as of Dec. 31.
Tesla has faced some legal battles already this year, and has recalled almost every vehicle it's sold in the US. EV sales have also slowed this year, contributing to sluggish sector growth.
It's worth noting that Musk isn't afraid to lay off staff at his companies en masse, either. X, formerly known as Twitter, has laid off over 6,000 staffers from its ranks since Musk bought it in late 2022. When X conducted layoffs, Musk initially asked employees to send him their code to prove their value at the company, a test that echoes Tesla's latest request.
X's approach to laying off staff also wasn't entirely transparent or forthcoming, as staff suddenly found themselves locked out of their emails, The New York Times reported last year.
Later, Musk said X employees have to be essential and "exceptional" to keep their jobs.
Layoffs are plaguing the tech sector more broadly as companies look to downsize to reduce costs. Snap laid off 10% of its employees this week. And DocuSign, Amazon, and Zoom also reduced their headcounts this month, according to one layoff tracker.