Nico Murillo was part of the large group of Tesla employees who were laid off by the EV giant earlier this month.
Day Of The Layoff: In a post on Linkedin, Murillo recounted his experience starting from the morning of April 15 when he noticed that his work account was deactivated but dismissed it thinking it to be an error.
However, Murillo later read his termination email that read, “Unfortunately as a result, your position has been eliminated by this restructuring.” On getting to the Fremont factory that morning, the security guard informed him that he had been laid off and took his badge, he wrote.
Journey At Tesla: Murillo had been with Tesla for about five years. He joined the EV maker in 2019 as a production associate and was a production supervisor overseeing 54 production associates for Model Y production when he was laid off. In the meantime, he said, he “sacrificed a lot for the company.”
“At one point in 2023, I was even sacrificing sleeping in my car on work days just to avoid commuting to work. Showered at the factory and slept in the parking lot. Microwaved dinner in the break room,” he recounted.
Despite the setback, Murillo remains optimistic. “But this is just a small part of a chapter that is ending, and there’s a whole book waiting to be written. I’m only 29 years old and have a lot more career time in me,” he added.
Tesla is looking to cut 10% of its global workforce or about 14,000 employees. The layoffs won’t all be immediate but through the year.
Mapping The Layoffs: Tesla CEO Elon Musk is known for being a workaholic, who denounced work-from-home trends during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has often spoken about sleeping on the factory floors “because it mattered.”
According to WARN notices filed with the states of Texas and California, Tesla will eliminate 3,332 jobs in California and 2,688 positions in Texas, totaling over 6,000 positions, starting June 14.
The company also intends to cut around 400 jobs in Germany, 693 in Nevada, and 285 employees in Buffalo, New York, starting July 15.
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