Tesla cutting pay of salaried employees, furloughing hourly employees

Electric car company Tesla has announced it will slash pay for salaried employees and furlough all hourly workers amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Tesla suspended operations at its San Francisco-area factory last month after local officials said the company wouldn’t be labeled an essential business during the pandemic.

In an email to employees Tuesday obtained by CNBC, Valerie Workman, head of HR for the company’s North America branch, said the company expects “to resume normal production at our U.S. facilities on May 4, barring any significant changes.”

“Until that time, it is important we take action to ensure we remain on track to achieve our long-term plans,” Workman wrote.

Starting April 13, salaried employees in the U.S. will see their pay cut anywhere from 10 to 30 percent depending on the level of their position, CNBC reported.

Employees who are unable to “work at home and have not been assigned to critical work onsite will be furloughed,” the email added.

In the first quarter of the year, Tesla reported that it delivered 88,400 vehicles and produced 103,000, exceeding market expectations.

CNBC noted that the company has yet to walk back the expectation that it set with investors at the beginning of the year that it would “comfortably exceed” 500,000 vehicle deliveries in 2020.