Electric mobility - Tesla halts car manufacturing: Five consecutive days.
Tesla, an American electric car manufacturer, closed down production of vehicles and drivetrains at its European facility in Gruenheide near Berlin on Friday as previously scheduled. A representative confirmed this when queried. During June, Tesla plans five such shutdowns: on June 14, 17, 27, and 28. The company cites upgrades to enhance efficiency and improve availability and cycle times as justification.
These planned production-free days intend to refine the manufacturing facilities for higher effectiveness, in addition to optimizing availability and cycle times. While battery cell and foundry production will continue as normal, the affected factory workers have been notified by Tesla, according to "Handelsblatt," about the "brief production interruptions" on these five days. Since the beginning of the year, the Gruenheide plant has experienced multiple shutdowns.
In late January, Tesla suspended car production in Gruenheide for about two weeks due to Huthi militia attacks on ships in the Red Sea. In March, the power supply to Tesla near the factory was tampered with, causing a nearly week-long halt in car production due to a power outage. In May, no cars were produced on Whit Monday, also known as Ascension Day, due to protests related to an extension of the factory site to create a freight yard and logistics areas. Some protesters attempted to infiltrate the Tesla site, which was prevented by the police.
Tesla initiated electric vehicle manufacturing at the Brandenburg plant in March 2022 and employs approximately 12,000 people there. The company is reducing jobs companywide due to a decline in the market for electric vehicles. In April, Tesla announced it would reduce staff by 400 at the factory in Gruenheide. Despite these job cuts, the company still intends to expand production at the factory in the future.
