Managers at Tesla’s Grünheide factory in Germany Visit homes of workers on sick leave – but don’t expect them to bring you chicken soup and orange juice.
The manager of Tesla’s Gigafactory in Berlin-Brandenburg sent managers to check on about 30 sick employees, according to the German news outlet Handelsblatt. According to a recording from an internal meeting, these visits were paid.
Employees did not respond well to their managers’ visits, with some planning to call the police or close the door on their supervisors.
But the Grünheide plant’s manufacturing director, Andre Tereg, confirmed the company’s decision to visit sick workers. He said the widespread use of sick days is the result of workers in Germany taking advantage policy Which gives employees full pay for six weeks of vacation. About 5% of employees take sick leave on Fridays and late shifts compared to other work days, he said, citing company analytics.
“This is not an indication of poor working conditions because working conditions are the same on all workdays and on all shifts,” Terrig said L said Guardian. “It indicates that the German social system is being exploited to some extent.”
Terrig added that visiting workers on sick leave was common practice and merely “an appeal to the employees’ work ethic.”
Union grievances
The checks come in the wake of reports of rampant absenteeism at the factory. Handelsblatt Sick leave at Tesla’s German factory reportedly increased by 17% in August, three times the average in the German auto industry.
This increase even caught the attention of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who… Written on X He plans to investigate the matter.
Dirk Schulz, regional director of IG Metall, the German union that represents part of the plant’s 12,000 workers, said harsh working conditions and long hours necessitated high rates of sick leave. He said Tesla must make changes to its work culture if it wants to see a decrease in employee sick leave.
“Employees from almost all areas of the plant reported a very high workload,” he told the newspaper. Guardian. “When there is a staffing shortage, sick workers are stressed, and those who remain healthy take on additional workloads.”
Tesla and IG Metal did not respond luckRequest for comment.
Last October, German media reported You mentioned a large number Of factory accidents, such as burns and amputations, forcing workers to take sick leave for at least three days. Tesla said workers received protective clothing and factory safety training.
The German Gigafactory, which opened in 2022 as the company’s first European operation, promised the capacity to eventually produce 1 million cars a year. But it fell short She reduced her monthly production goals Last year he also sailed Reducing costs On electric cars amid declining demand. Tesla planned to implement Voluntary layoffs for about 300 German factory workers in April.
Months after the German plant began operating, the plant had trouble retaining employees. workers at that time He claimed Some employees took sick leave longer than their working period due to lack of motivation. Others left because of low wages in a competitive industry.
The electric car giant has a track record of penalizing workers for taking sick leave outside its European operations. During the epidemic, two American Tesla workers They said they received termination notices After calling in sick and opting for unpaid leave, though, the company gives employees the option not to return to work if they don’t feel comfortable. Tesla factory workers in Nevada claimed that the company threatened to fire them for taking sick days, which Tesla deemed an “unplanned vacation day.”
“It is at the discretion of the supervisor,” an anonymous Tesla employee said L said Guardian In 2019. “If they want to get rid of you, it’s very easy to say the absence was unscheduled or not approved.”