Tesla Trims Workforce At British Assembly Plant

[Mark H]

http://rumors.automobilemag.com/6329677/gr...lant/index.html

 

Electric sports car automaker Tesla has announced that it will be laying off at least ten of its fifty workers at its Hethel facility in Norfolk, Great Britain. The facility, owned by Lotus Cars, is responsible for building both the Tesla Roadster and most Lotus sports cars, including the Elise and Exige.

 

 

"We deeply regret the necessity of making redundancies at the Tesla Hethel facility," said Don Cochrane, UK sales and marketing director at Tesla Motors. "It is in the interests of the longer-term health of the company to act prudently now."

 

Cochrane continued, saying that the layoffs were caused be the economic downturn that has been particularly present within the auto industry, but insists that orders for the Roadster remain strong.

 

The cuts come in wake of a sizable shake-up at Tesla, which prompted the firm to close its engineering center in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and delay development of its Model S sedan. According to Tesla, the resizing of its Hethel workforce will have no impact on Roadster production.