Tesla employed 10,703 workers at its Berlin-area factory as of January 2026, down approximately 1,700 from the 12,415 listed two years earlier, according to internal documents cited by German business newspaper Handelsblatt.
The 14% workforce decline at the Grünheide plant comes from documents prepared for upcoming works council elections scheduled for March.
Tesla denied the job cuts. The company told Reuters on Wednesday it maintains no plans to reduce production or cut staff.
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“Compared to 2024, there has been no significant reduction in the number of permanent staff,” Tesla said in an emailed statement. “Nor are there any such plans.”
The company attributed the decline to normal fluctuations and decreased need for temporary workers following the factory’s initial production ramp-up.
“The message from factory management remains: the situation and outlook at the gigafactory are stable — especially with regard to employee jobs,” the company stated.
The Grünheide facility, Tesla’s only European production site, manufactures Model Y vehicles and began operations in early 2022. The plant produces approximately 5,000 vehicles per week and supplies more than 30 markets worldwide.
Tesla announced in April 2024 that it would eliminate more than 10% of its workforce globally, affecting approximately 14,000 employees. Chief Executive Elon Musk told workers the reductions aimed to lower costs and improve productivity.
Company statements show the German factory’s workforce declined gradually: approximately 12,500 employees in February 2024, nearly 12,000 in autumn 2024, and around 11,000 by year’s end.
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