Electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has denied allegations about laying off its workers at the Buffalo plant in New York in retaliation to a campaign to form a union. The company stated that it removed 4% of its employees in the Autopilot labeling team in Buffalo as part of a performance review that is held every six months.
Tesla’s Union Woes
Earlier this week, Tesla workers in Buffalo, New York, launched a campaign to form the company’s first union in the U.S. The workers said they will unionize with the Workers United Upstate New York. In a filing with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Wednesday, the Workers United Upstate New York union accused the Elon Musk-led company of hitting back by terminating some of the employees “in retaliation for union activity,” Reuters reported.
In a statement, the union said that Tesla removed over 30 employees and sent workers an email with an updated policy, which prohibits them from recording workplace meetings without seeking permission from all participants.
Tesla called the allegation false and clarified that it conducted the most recent performance review cycle from July through December 2022. Furthermore, in a communication sent to managers on December 13, 2022, about the review schedule, Tesla informed that the exits for low performers would commence from February 12, 2023.
Tesla also stated that the impacted workers were identified on February 3, “well before the union campaign was announced.”
“We became aware of organizing activities approximately 10 days later. We learned in hindsight that one out of the 27 impacted employees officially identified as part of the union campaign. This exercise pre-dated any union campaign,” clarified the company.
Elon Musk has been quite vocal about his opposition to unions. In a tweet in 2018, Musk threatened employees that they would lose their stock options if they formed a union. The NLRB directed Tesla to remove this tweet as it was illegal.
Last month, Tesla was criticized by the German union IG Metall and politicians over allegations by workers about long working hours and suppression of free speech.
Is Tesla a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Wall Street is cautiously optimistic about Tesla, with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 22 Buys, six Holds, and three Sells. The average TSLA stock price target of $202.46 implies shares could be range-bound over the near term. TSLA shares have rallied 64% since the start of this year.
