Amid CEO Elon Musk’s “woke mind virus” concerns, Electric vehicle company, Tesla has laid off both the President and a Lead involved in diversity and inclusivity programs at the company of its LGBTQ+ community.
While they were let go as part of a broader wave of layoffs, it comes amid several comments CEO Elon Musk made, concerning what he describes as the “woke mind virus.” As per reports, many employees who were part of the diversity team were laid off.
Both employees were promoted three times and had worked for Tesla for five and four years respectively. Bobby Berretta-Paris, who was a part of Tesla for five years, was let go last week. He worked as a recruiter and was promoted three times during his tenure. He was also the volunteer president of LGBTQ+ at Tesla.
Earlier this month, Elon Musk, CEO called for the layoff of 10 percent of the company’s white-collar workforce in an internal company email on June 3. Followed by a reduction in the salaries of the workforce by 10 percent over the three months.
Musk has earlier said that he believes the US is headed for a recession. He also told Tesla staff that “remote work is no longer acceptable,” requiring salaried employees to return to the office and work a minimum of 40 hours a week.
The Company has already decided on a hiring pause earlier, fearing recession. Tesla and its subsidiaries had about 100,000 employees at the end of 2021, according to a Tesla US regulatory filing.
