Employees globally are calling out on the fact that Tesla did not even think about giving a warning before they were shown to the door. Several of them are deeply saddened by the way they were sacked by the company and how gutted they feel by the company’s actions.

The economic meltdown is getting on the nerves of even the richest man in this universe, Elon Musk. In a shocking turn of events, Tesla has decided to let go of thousands of its employees citing the struggles with lockdowns and supply shortages. Musk wrote an email to Tesla employees recently hinting about a 10% layoff as he has a “super bad feeling” about the current economy.

Tesla has been minting money with the best and most advanced electric vehicles. Many are vocalizing the layoff act to be harsh and illegal. The mass firing is confusing for everyone to understand what is in the mind of Elon Musk for Tesla’s future. Musk feels the strong push on the execution of ideas is maturing to its final stages, and layoffs can help things get on track.

How Did The Good Times End For Quishon Walker?

Several ex-employees of Tesla came up to social media to express their disbelief and shock as the company gave them no warning. Quishon Walker, a former sourcer/recruiter at Musk’s company was let go a couple of weeks ago. He mentioned how devastating and saddening it was to witness such a difficult time.

Recalling the ordeal of the dreadful event he pointed out in an interview that he was always given positive feedback during his two months journey at Tesla. He even mentioned why billionaires need to do so? Just to save some billions for their business but deranging the lives of many with their move.

Working at Tesla was a dream job for him, but the layoffs have made him put the “Open to Work” badge on his LinkedIn profile again. The post on his brings a series of emotions as he explains how the sacking made him feel. He was on the Autopilot recruitment team and was hiring exceptional candidates for the project considered Elon’s favorite.

There was no head-up to Walker for the ominous event of his sacking coming in only after two months of his hiring. A pop-up in his calendar with the message “Meeting-Tesla”, was all that gave him chills as if something wrong was about to happen. He said his manager and another HR personnel read out a termination script and that was all. He somehow managed to keep his composure but the moment the meeting ended, he couldn’t control his tears anymore.

His Tesla emails and log-ins were canceled shortly after he was asked to leave on a virtual meeting with his manager. Walker also explained how he thought his work arrangements were with Tesla as he was asked to come to the office for work. However, the emails to return to work felt obsolete to him as he clarified at the point of his recruitment that he would rather prefer going completely remote for work.

What Other EX-Employees Are Saying?

Many employees are coming forward with their stories of shock and disbelief getting a laying-off letter from Tesla. The beginning of June saw Musk, a bit paranoid about how the economy might shape up with the current challenges and gave a hint of upcoming surprise layoffs.

Tesla asked Christopher Bousigues, working for Tesla for over a year now was also asked to leave. Tesla country manager for Singapore, he was also the first country manager in South East Asia. He put up a post on his LinkedIn profile, informing everyone about the news mentioning how he and his team built the Tesla business from the ground up in Singapore.

Lead CGI animation of Tesla was also sacked even after dutifully working for the company for six years. Another employee from the recruitment team, Ian Absher said that it was heart-wrenching for him to wake up without a 9 to 5 job in his life. Moreover, he mentioned how he lost his passion for working in the recruitment field. He said, “Damn, talk about a heart attack. On Friday afternoon, I was hired for a Tesla layoff after just two weeks on the job,”

Tesla’s mass layoffs must have hit a nerve for many, as many others are sharing their ordeal online. Any company should behave better and give deserving reasons to their employees before letting them go. This is why many ex-employees have sued Tesla for violating their rights and federal law in the United States of America. Robert Belovodskij said he was asked to join Tesla back but that too was put to hold as the current hiring is put on freeze across Tesla globally. Many others have shared similar awful stories of getting sacked from Tesla.

What Is The Other Side Of The Quishon Walker Story?

Many users on social media are bashing Elon Musk for the way employees are sacked from their positions in the company. But it is crucial that everyone understands the whole situation without reckoning just this act. Tesla informed its employees over a month ago that they need to come to the office as the pandemic has come to a hazy state and the company needs to deliver.

Tesla too switched to the remote working template in the pandemic hit like other companies. However, his email meant clearly for the employees to work in their designated office and not remotely from a branch office or work-from-home. Quishon Walker too was given the notice to show up for work in the office. Quishon was doing great in his two-month stint with Tesla but was that enough?

Quishon was on a contract with Tesla and he refused to come into the office for work and boom. Musk had mentioned how he lives in the factory so everyone can see him working together. Elon Musk clarified his stance on the remote working lifestyle when he tweeted that employees looking for remote work should pretend to work elsewhere. Musk once said about the work culture in China saying they keep on burning the 3 am oil. Moreover, he mentioned how American would avoid going back to the work at all costs.

Remote Work or In-Office?

Many people do pretend to be serious about the work-from-home situation, but they do not understand the consequences of everyone going remote for every work profile. Many netizens argue that they were able to maintain a better performance than they were doing with in-office work. However, there is this crucial aspect of the work profile too. Software or IT people could perform well with a remote profile or any other desk job could perform well remotely. The same is not true for people who need to use hands-on expertise for their work.

One Twitter user, Lex Fields tweeted about the other side of remote work:
“Let’s be honest. The only reason for wanting to work remotely is for pure convenience. It is selfish on the part of the employee to expect to always be like that if the employer doesn’t. If the employer doesn’t want it, well, the employee should just either take it or leave it.”

Another user pointed out that remote work cannot be a fit 100% for everyone. It may fit a factory worker but would not be as feasible for a factory worker. Though a logical explanation should advocate this there is another aspect of alienating talent with such measure. Quishon Walker is one such example, he was not able to prove his worth in such a short time or maybe there was a misunderstanding regarding the work atmosphere. We would need to wait for some concrete reaction from Tesla to get more clarity on this though.

What To Expect In Future?

Tesla is one giant company but still is lacking in many factors responsible for the well-being of the largest electric vehicle manufacturer in the world. Consistently missing deadlines and stumbling with the Tesla market in China is surely some pressing issue for Musk to consider. However, it wouldn’t be long to see what response Musk is planning for the current situation. Tesla is on the verge of reestablishing its priorities as the delays are eating up much of its profits over other rivals in the electric vehicle segment. Global shortage, pandemic, Twitter deal, SpaceX, and the recent China factory closure are some significant reasons for Tesla to do what works best for the organization.

Tesla is bearing the ongoing backlash from the netizens, government, and laid-off employees following the 10% sudden layoffs. Employees were sent an email earlier in June to state that there would be a temporary pause on hiring at Tesla. The way employees were asked to leave is also unusual, as many were read a script on a virtual meeting with their seniors and just like that, sacked!

“Only an employer can determine the environment it wants to build and the employee dynamic that is best suited to meet the task.”

There is no point in muddling in with the fact that Tesla is a car manufacturer, and calling its employees to work in-office, is simply essential for its growth. However, no matter how challenging and problematic it is to understand layoffs for the employees, there is a widely accepted theory of both parties should be happy with the working arrangement.

It is not a shocking practice that employees are laid off by a company during financial crunches. Therefore, there could be a thousand reasons for Tesla to come up with this 10% skimming. Leaving alone the emotional part, if it goes as predicted, there would be a much more difficult time for Tesla and former employees amid the recession. The lawsuit also awaits Tesla’s attention as 500 ex-employee from Nevada sues the company for mass layoffs.

We hope to see some answers from Tesla soon as the time progresses. What do you think is the prime cause for the act; Write down your views in our comment section below!