Tesla has cut around 1,700 workers at its Giga Berlin factory over the past two years, German outlet Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday.
An internal document revealed that the company employs 10,703 workers at the plant— a 13.8% decline from the 12,415 workers they had in 2024.
The information comes despite repeated statements by plant manager André Thierig that Tesla had not cut jobs or carried out production shutdowns throughout 2025.
Thierig Comments
About a year ago, the plant manager told Tagesspiegel that there were “no plans for production stoppages, staff reductions, or short-time work in Grünheide.”
Additionally, with the company’s plans to establish cell production in Grünheide announced in December, Thierif noted that a “substantially three-digit number” of new jobs would be created in the coming months.
Last month, Thierig told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) that Tesla is aiming for another increase in production in Grünheide this year, despite difficult market conditions in Germany.
Report
According to Handelsblatt, the numbers come from the election committee of Tesla‘s works council, as chairman René Seyfert wrote in an invitation to the next election in March that the company employed “1,683 women, 9,006 men, and 14 non-binary people.”
In early 2024, there were 1,788 women, 10,616 men, and 11 non-binary people working in Grünheide.
Neither Tesla nor Thierig have responded to a request for comment by Handelsblatt.
2024 Layoffs
The German media outlet noted that these cuts could exceed the job reductions announced by CEO Elon Musk in April 2024.
By then, the company’s chief executive announced that it was reducing the global workforce by 10%, stating that “about every five years, we need to reorganize and strealine the company for the next phase of growth.”
About 300 temporary workers were laid off from the factory later that month.
“These are not layoffs of Tesla workers,” a spokesperson told Reuters then, adding that “as far as we are aware, our contractual partner has already been able to transfer the majority of these de-registered temporary workers to new employment with other customers.”
A month later, Tesla announced it was targeting 400 voluntary job cuts in the factory — about 3% of its total workforce then — which it hoped to achieve without forced layoffs.
European Sales
Last year, Tesla’s vehicle registrations in Germany nearly halved to 19,390 vehicles, compared to 2024’s 37,574 units.
The company saw its sales plunge overall across Europe in 2025, with exceptions such as Norway, where it achieved record figures.
Some of the reasons for the drop include increased competition from Chinese automakers, the weaker than expected demand for the refreshed Model Y, and reputational damage linked to CEO Elon Musk’s political activities.
Swedish vehicle registrations fell by more than 66% last year, a decline that has been worsened by an ongoing labor strike that has already lasted over two years.
The company expects to secure approval of its Full-Self Driving (FSD) software in Europe this year — with an upcoming test with the Dutch road safety authority scheduled for February.
