Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Tesla has increased wages for employees at its German gigafactory outside Berlin by 4%, the U.S.-based electric vehicle maker said Tuesday.
Last month, Tesla announced it would convert 500 temporary roles at the Gruenheide factory to permanent positions as of November 1, a move the U.S. automaker described as an “optimistic assessment of the further development of e-car production.”
The wage increase comes without involvement from German union IG Metall, which has consistently raised concerns about working conditions at the Gruenheide site.
“This is particularly welcome news for our workforce, especially at a time when many companies in the German automotive industry are discussing job cuts and plant closures,” said Tesla’s human resources director Erik Demmler as initially reported by Reuters.
Local German media recently reported that Tesla managers at Giga Berlin have begun visiting employees’ homes while they are on sick leave.
In response, Giga Berlin’s Manufacturing Director André Thierig explained that some workers have been taking advantage of German labor protection laws, revealing that Tesla identified 200 staff members who have not shown up for work all year but are still being paid.
“In our analyses of attendance at work, some phenomena have become obvious: on Fridays and late shifts, about 5% more employees take sick leave than on other weekdays,” Thierig said. “That is not an indicator of bad working conditions because the working conditions are the same on all working days and across all shifts. It suggests that the German social system is being exploited to some extent.”
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
