Tesla Inc. employees in Germany are demanding better working conditions, putting pressure on the Elon Musk-led manufacturer that’s contending with a sales slump in Europe’s biggest auto market.
More than 3,000 workers at Tesla’s plant near Berlin have signed a petition asking for more breaks, better staffing and an end to management’s intimidation tactics, the IG Metall union said Thursday. Employees have long been overworked and will have to shoulder too much once Tesla ramps up output of the Model Y again after reworking assembly lines, unionists said.
“There often isn’t even time to drink or go to the toilet,” IG Metall members of Tesla’s works council said in a statement. “No one can keep going like this until they retire.”
Tesla’s reputation in Europe’s largest economy has deteriorated since Musk endorsed the right-wing AfD party during the German election campaign and became a top adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump. The company’s sales in the country plummeted 76% last month.
Discontent has swirled around Tesla’s lone car factory in Europe for years, with activists claiming that the site uses too much water and poses a threat to the environment. Tesla also had to contend with attacks on surrounding railway infrastructure. Last year, Musk said he was looking into high rates of absenteeism at the plant in the small town of Grünheide.
Unionists plan to hand over the petition to Tesla management during Thursday’s workers’ assembly. It’s unclear if it will succeed in changing conditions at the plant. IG Metall members form the largest single group on Tesla’s work’s council but do not have a majority. The factory employs around 10,500 people, according to union estimates.