No official communication: Tesla cuts 1,700 jobs in Germany

Almost two years ago, Tesla announced massive job cuts, but the Brandenburg plant was supposed to escape relatively unscathed—losing only 400 positions. That was the official line. However, according to investigations by the German Handelsblatt, the workforce has since shrunk by more than 1,700 employees.

Tesla gigafactory brandenburg min — Image: Tesla

The Handelsblatt cites an internal document from the electoral board of Tesla’s works council. According to this document, the Grünheide plant near Berlin currently employs 10,703 people, compared with 12,415 during the works council election two years ago. This represents a discrepancy of approximately 1,700 employees, or a reduction of 13.8%. A request from Handelsblatt for an explanation from plant manager André Thierig went unanswered.

This suggests that nearly 14% of positions at Grünheide have been cut over roughly two years without transparent communication, contrary to previous assurances. This reduction even exceeds the average of 10% job cuts that Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced across all Tesla locations in April 2024. It is likely that Tesla’s declining new registrations last year contributed to further negative dynamics in plant utilisation and, consequently, employment. In the first nine months of 2025 alone, Tesla’s new registrations in Germany were around 50% lower than in the previous year.

However, as recently as March 2025, plant manager André Thierig told Tagesspiegel that there were no plans for production stoppages, job cuts, or short-time work in Grünheide. According to Handelsblatt’s investigations, Thierig maintained the narrative into autumn that jobs were only being cut ‘elsewhere.’

Der Spiegel, which also reported on the approximately 1,700 job cuts that morning, has since received a response from Tesla. A company spokesperson dismissed the allegations of a large-scale jobs cull, stating: “Compared to 2024, there has been no significant reduction in the permanent workforce. Such a move is also not planned.” Furthermore, fluctuations in the total workforce, which includes temporary workers, are described as “completely normal” at this scale. The spokesperson attributed this to the “rapid ramp-up of the factory,” which has reduced the need for a flexible number of temporary workers.

handelsblatt.com, spiegel.de (both in German)