FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Tesla said on Thursday it would give permanent jobs to 500 temporary workers at its German gigafactory near Berlin from Nov. 1, in what the U.S. electric car maker called an “optimistic assessment of further development of production of e-cars”. .
Gruenheide, Tesla’s (NASDAQ:) only European gigafactory, employs approximately 12,000 employees. Tesla said that at the last staff meeting, works council head Michaela Schmitz called on management to cut temporary work and hire more staffers on a permanent basis.
Earlier this year, Tesla reduced its workforce there with voluntary workforce reductions. The contracts for some subcontractor employees were also not renewed, as part of a group-wide effort to cut costs.
A month ago, German carmaker Volkswagen (ETR:) said it was considering closing local factories and reducing its workforce.
“At a time when many companies are talking about job losses and factory closures, the news that an additional 500 people will be offered a long-term perspective at Tesla in a permanent position is particularly gratifying,” Tesla said.
Tesla said this request had been thoroughly reviewed by the factory’s management, adding that the German union IG Metall, which has long criticized working conditions at Gruenheide, was not involved in these deliberations.
Tesla has not disclosed how many temporary workers are employed at Gruenheide.
