Employees at the Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai have used social media platforms like Baidu to express their concerns to CEO Elon Musk and the Chinese public about allegedly planned incentive cuts at the facility.
Some of the posts also criticized Tesla’s reported response to a fatal accident at the plant earlier this year, with some questioning whether the planned bonus cuts are related to the incident.
The workers, who reportedly spoke to Portal on condition of anonymity, noted their managers informed them that their quarterly bonus payment would be reduced. The decision is reportedly linked to the factory’s overall performance. According to the workers, the Tesla supervisors cited a “security incident” as the reason for the bonus cut.
Several online posts have claimed that workers at Tesla’s Shanghai plant were wrongly punished for the February accident that resulted in one death at the plant. A Pudong local government report released earlier this month revealed that an accident at Giga Shanghai’s welding shop resulted in the worker’s death.
An investigation found that the deceased worker was directly responsible for the unfortunate incident, although Portal also noted that an oversight in Tesla’s safety management was indirectly linked to the accident. A number of reported Giga Shanghai employees claimed in social media posts that their quarterly bonuses were cut by around 2,000 yuan (about US$291).
Base salaries at Tesla Giga Shanghai show workers can earn about 110,000 to 120,000 yuan ($16,000 to 17,400) a year before taxes, according to a recruitment site listed on Lingang Group’s official WeChat account. This is comparable to other international and Chinese manufacturers in the region.
Tesla and Elon Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Tesla is expected to release its first-quarter results on Wednesday. Investors and analysts will be eager to see how the company’s recent EV price cuts have impacted its industry-leading margins. Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn has also stated that the company expects to maintain a 20% gross margin in its electric vehicle business.
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