Tesla to cut jobs in China

The electric-car maker Tesla Motors will cut jobs in China due to disappointing sales in the country. The company led by entrepreneur Elon Musk has gone through a trademark dispute, and it is still battling to convince Chinese customers to buy electric cars made by the company.

As per a China-based newspaper, the automaker will reduce staff count by about 30%. While confirming the job cuts, Gary Tao, spokesman of the company, said that the company has been reducing staff since early this year. The layoff is a part of a larger restructuring plan. Much of the plan has already been implemented and the current team of the company is ‘strong and steady’, Tao added.

Tao also said that it is normal for people to come and go in companies. The spokesman declined to comment on a media report that stated that Tesla was eliminating 180 jobs, or 30% of its workforce. Earlier, CEO Elon Musk said that sales in China were weak because there were misconceptions that charging was difficult. Moreover, urban residents of the country thought that they would not be able to charge their electric cars at home.

As per the reports, the company has invested several resources to build charging stations, and planned to construct many resources in China. The company’s Model S sedan costs about $115,000 in China.

On Monday, the electric vehicle maker announced that the jobs will be cut after the company failed to accomplish sales target in the country’s car market. The company has not specified how many jobs would be cut and did not say anything about the report in the Economic Observer newspaper last week that the company was eliminating 30% of its workers.

Tao said, “The first strategy is to build up a strong and efficient team to respond more quickly to the market, so this is part of the effort to implement that strategy”.