Tesla Inc. will shorten production shifts at its Shanghai factory as soon as Monday and has delayed the on-boarding of some new hires, people familiar with the situation said — adding to signs demand for the company’s electric vehicles in China isn’t meeting expectations.
The plant will operate two 9 1/2-hour shifts per day, down from two 11 1/2-hour shifts currently, according to the people, who asked not be named because the information isn’t public. The change is scheduled to take place from Monday, according to a production schedule seen by Bloomberg News, though it may be subject to some last-minute adjustments, the people said. The shorter shifts will lead to reduced monthly pay for production staff, they said.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Tesla plans to cut production this month at the Shanghai factory across the Model Y and Model 3 production lines by about 20 percent. A Tesla representative said it was “untrue” the carmaker planned to cut output, without elaborating.
Separately, the on-boarding process of some new hires has been suspended, other people said. Some production staff who were slated to start in November, including in Tesla’s battery workshops and on vehicle assembly lines, were informed by the company their start dates would be delayed. One of the people said they were told by Tesla’s recruiter to be prepared to start after the Chinese New Year holiday, which falls at the end of January, because there isn’t an urgent need for more workers right now.
A Tesla representative in China declined to comment Thursday.