Furious Tesla Shanghai workers are venting on Elon Musk over bonus cuts

SHANGHAI, April 17 (Reuters) – Workers at the Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) factory in Shanghai have taken to social media to appeal to Elon Musk and the Chinese public after they were tipped off over the weekend about cuts to their performance bonuses, according to online posts and employees. . I spoke to Reuters.

Several publications said they believed the cuts were linked to a fatal accident earlier this year at the plant, the world’s largest, and criticized Tesla for the cuts.

The situation represents a rare outburst of discontent at Tesla’s Shanghai factory, which last year praised its workers for burning “3am oil” to continue operations during the city’s two-month coronavirus lockdown.

It comes as Tesla is cutting prices in multiple markets, including China where demand has been weakening, raising concerns about its industry-leading profit margin.

Posts began appearing on forums such as Baidu Tieba late last week. Some took to Twitter, which is owned by Musk and blocked in China, to tweet about the billionaire, his mother, Maye Musk, and Tesla.

“Please be aware of the performance (bonus) of frontline workers at Tesla’s Shanghai factory being arbitrarily deducted,” said a person with the @AFeiywu Twitter handle in a tweet directed at Elon Musk and Tesla’s Asia.

Two workers at the factory, where Tesla employs about 20,000, told Reuters that supervisors told them over the weekend to cut their quarterly bonuses, which are tied to factory performance.

The workers said Tesla supervisors mentioned a “safety incident” when asked about the reasons for the bonus cut. They refused to reveal their names, fearing for their jobs.

Several online publications alleged that workers at the Shanghai factory were unfairly punished for an incident this year at the factory in February in which one worker died.

According to a report released by the Pudong local government on April 12, a mechanical accident occurred in the welding workshop of Tesla’s factory in Shanghai on February 4, killing one worker.

The local government investigation concluded that Tesla’s safety management supervision indirectly contributed to the accident, and said that the deceased worker was directly responsible.

Tesla and Elon Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

His mother, May Musk, is a model who has gained a following in China. She recently completed a two-week tour of the country, visiting a Shanghai factory and promoting her memoirs.

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Some workers said in online posts that their quarterly bonuses have been cut by about 2,000 yuan ($291.19).

Base salaries at the Shanghai factory start at around 5,340 yuan per month, with additional income in some cases coming from overtime, shifts, and annual and quarterly bonuses.

Before taxes, workers can earn 110,000 to 120,000 yuan a year, including bonuses and overtime wages, according to the recruitment post on the official Wechat account of state-owned Lingang Group, which provides recruitment services for companies in the region. This level of wages is in line with other international and Chinese manufacturers in the region.

It’s not uncommon for companies to punish employees after a work accident, but it usually comes from a safety reward, said Aidan Chow, a researcher with the Hong Kong-based China Employment Bulletin.

“Deducting performance bonus, which should be related to worker production and not related to work safety, is even more unfair,” Zhao said.

Tesla is scheduled to report first-quarter results on Wednesday. The main focus for investors and analysts will be how the round of price cuts for its electric cars cuts into its margins.

On Friday, it slashed prices for electric cars in Europe, Israel and Singapore, extending the discount it started in China in January.

Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn said last quarter that the company expects to maintain a 20% gross margin on cars, excluding leases and regulatory credits, with the average selling price of its electric cars globally above $47,000.

($1 = 6.8684 CNY)

Reporting was provided by Zhang Yan, Xuzhou Cui, and Brenda Goh; Editing by Anne Marie Rountree; Tom Hogg and Sonali Paul

Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.