BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Yet another round of layoffs has been announced at Tesla’s Gigafactory 2 in South Buffalo.
This week, according to a WARN notice from the Department of Labor, 3 employees have been laid off.
Less than a month ago, Tesla laid off 285 of its 2,032 employees. Then in late April — another 26 people lost their jobs and last week five more were laid off.
Dean Lewis and Rabb Burrough, former Tesla employees, said they were not surprised to hear about the layoffs.
Both were let go from the South Buffalo Gigafactory in January.
"We don't need more revolving door unemployment. Stability is the best thing to improve Western New York, and that's not what we're getting," Burrough said.
"This is what Tesla is doing. This is what Tesla's standing for right about now and they're not standing on the promise that they made to the City of Buffalo," Lewis added. "This is not right. You know, you came to Buffalo. You got massive tax breaks. You've got, you know, this facility you have you have a city teaming with people who really do want to work."
The Gigafactory here in South Buffalo opened in 2017 after New York State spent $959 million to construct the high-tech facility.
As part of that deal, Tesla leases the building for $1 a year until 2027 in exchange for keeping at least 1,460 jobs in Buffalo.
The factory has always maintained that job requirement, and it still employs 1,720 employees, which is 260 jobs above the state-mandated requirement.
Lewis and Burrough said they dealt with unfair treatment while working here.
"This company is known for union busting. They're known for discrimination. They're known for nepotism," Lewis said. "[Tesla] should be ashamed for coming to the City of Buffalo and treating this city like this."
This week, the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against Tesla saying the company had a policy for workplace technology, that was meant to discourage employees from forming or joining a union.
Art Wheaton, Director of Labor Studies with Cornell IRL school, said these layoffs indicate the company is going through tough times. Year-to-year sales are down 13 percent.
"Elon Musk and Tesla do not recognize collective bargaining," Wheaton said. "So it's really creating havoc and turmoil within what's going on for Tesla."
