Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks at a Tesla Giga Texas manufacturing opening party on April 7 in Austin, Texas. Photo: Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he is prepared to cut staff by about 10%, citing a "super bad feeling" about the economy, according to an internal email seen by Reuters.
Driving the news: Musk's email, titled "pause all hiring worldwide," was sent Thursday to Tesla executives, two days after he said that staff will be required to return to work in person.
- Musk in a separate email to staff on Friday said that the salaried headcount will be cut by 10%, citing the company becoming "overstaffed in many areas," per Reuters.
- "Note, this does not apply to anyone actually building cars, battery packs or installing solar," he said, also noting that "hourly headcount will increase."
The big picture: Musk told Tesla staff this week that employees "should pretend to work somewhere else" if they're not willing to return to their offices.
- "Anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum (and I mean *minimum*) of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla," he said.
By the numbers: Tesla shares fell 8.5% on Friday after news of the hiring freeze emerged, CNBC reports.
- Tesla and its subsidiaries employed nearly 100,000 people at the end of 2021, per Reuters.
- Representatives for Tesla could not immediately be reached for comment.
Go deeper: Musk's WFH warning amplifies threat level for workers
Editor's note: This story has been updated with information on Elon Musk's email sent to staff on Friday.