Tesla has laid off nearly 200 workers, most of whom are tasked with labeling data to help train the company’s autopilot system. The layoffs – first reported by Bloomberg and confirmed by TechCrunch – are the latest job losses at Tesla, after CEO Elon Musk told company executives that the company should reduce its staff by about 10 percent.
The layoffs were concentrated in Tesla’s offices in San Mateo, California, where employees worked on the driver assistance function for Autopilot. Many of those affected were reported to be part-time workers in charge of labeling training data. Such work is essential for the development of AI systems, but is often low-skilled and low-paid. In recent years, many companies have turned to cheaper sources of labor in less developed countries to gather these resources.
Data labeling is essential for the development of AI systems such as autopilot
TechCrunch reports that Tesla’s San Mateo office initially had 276 employees. About 195 employees have been fired, the paper said, including labellers, analysts and supervisors, leaving 81 employees who will reportedly be moved to another office.
By the end of 2021, Tesla had 99,290 employees worldwide. Earlier this month, Musk said he had a “super bad feeling” about the US economy and that Tesla was “overstaffed,” leading to layoffs. Musk initially said job losses would mainly affect hired workers, but later reports said (and cuts in San Mateo show) that hourly workers are also at risk.
Tesla’s methods for reducing the number of employees are sometimes contradictory. Two former employees recently filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that Tesla violated federal law by failing to give 60 days’ notice before making a mass layoff at its Gigafactory facility in Nevada. In a TechCrunch report on the redundancies in San Mateo, sources told the publication that most of the workers were fired on the basis of performance – meaning that Tesla will not be required to notify layoffs in advance.
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