Former employees of Tesla Inc. (TSLA.O) have filed a lawsuit against the US electric car company, accusing it of violating federal law over its decision to conduct “mass layoffs” as the company cut jobs Advance notice was not given. The lawsuit was filed late Sunday in Texas by two workers who said they were terminated from Tesla’s Gigafactory plant in Sparks, Nevada, in June.
According to the suit, more than 500 workers were fired at the Nevada factory. The workers allege that the company failed to comply with federal laws on mass layoffs, which require a 60-day notification period under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, according to the lawsuit.
They are demanding class action status for all former Tesla employees across the United States who were laid off in May or June without any advance notice.
“Tesla has simply informed employees that their dismissal will be effective immediately,” the complaint said. Tesla, which did not comment on the number of layoffs, did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the lawsuit.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, said earlier this month he had a “super bad feeling” about the economy and that Tesla needs to cut staff by about 10%, according to an email seen by Reuters. Was.
According to online postings and interviews with Reuters, more than 20 people identifying themselves as Tesla employees said they had been laid off, let go or terminated this month.
Actions filed by John Lynch and Daxton Hartsfield, who were fired on June 10 and June 15, respectively, seek pay and benefits for a 60-day notification period.
“It is very shocking that Tesla Shannon Liss-Riordan, an attorney representing the workers, told Reuters it “would openly violate federal labor law by laying off so many workers without providing the necessary notice.” She said that Tesla is offering some employees only one week of severance, adding that it wants to file an emergency with a court to prevent Tesla from trying to obtain a release from employees in exchange for only one week of severance. Preparing proposal.
Musk played down the lawsuit as “frivolous.” “Let’s not read too much into the pre-emptive lawsuit, which has no stand,” he said at the Qatar Economic Forum organized by Bloomberg. “It seems that anything Tesla-related gets a lot of clicks, whether trivial or important. I would put the lawsuit you’re referring to in the minor category.”
The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court, Western District of Texas.
Reuters
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