Tesla Shanghai factory workers are appealing to Elon Musk about bonus cuts

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Workers at the Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) factory in Shanghai are taking to social media to appeal to Elon Musk and the Chinese public after being informed over the weekend of plans to cut their performance bonuses, according to online posts. and workers.

Several publications also criticized Tesla’s handling of a fatal accident at the factory, the world’s largest, earlier this year and questioned whether discounts were related to it.

The situation represents a rare outburst of discontent at Tesla’s Shanghai plant, its largest and most productive site, whose workers praised Musk last year for burning “3 o’clock oil” to continue operations during the city’s two-month coronavirus lockdown.

Posts started appearing on forums like Baidu Tieba late last week. Some have taken to Twitter, which is owned by Musk and blocked in China, to tweet about the accounts of the billionaire and his mother, Maye Musk, and those of 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 have alleged that workers at the Shanghai factory were unfairly punished for an incident this year at the factory where a worker died in February.

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 where she promoted her memoir.

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

Base salaries at the Shanghai plant start at around 5,340 yuan ($777) 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.

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

Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn said last quarter that Tesla 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 = 6.8763 CNY)

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

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