Tesla said on Thursday it would offer wage increases to workers at its German plant, where unions have said they earn less than the industry average. The US electric vehicle maker said it will notify employees about the level of pay hike in November. The company said it had hiked salaries by 6 percent last year.
Unlike other carmakers in Germany, Tesla has no collective bargaining agreement governing wages.
Under last year’s agreement, employees of Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW were offered a 5.2 percent pay hike in June 2023 and a 3.3 percent salary increase in 2024, as well as an inflation premium for full-time employees of 3,000 euros ($3,160) (about Rs 2.63 lakh).
Tesla does not have a pay collective bargaining agreement, in contrast to other German automakers.
In order to complete a massive expansion that would double its battery capacity and vehicle output, which is scheduled to start in the first half of next year, Tesla, which presently employs about 11,000 people at the facility, will need to hire more people.
German union IG Metal had earlier said Tesla’s salary was about 20 percent lower than the salary proposed under the collective bargaining agreement.
Tesla, which currently employs about 11,000 employees at its plant, will need to employ additional employees for a broader expansion starting in the first half of next year that will double its battery capacity and vehicle production.
IG Metal said Tesla told employees about the upcoming pay hike in a series of meetings held at the plant this week.
According to a copy of this invitation seen by media reports, the meetings were called to warn employees about IG Metal’s “suspicious methods”. The union had said it would visit the site to inform workers about union membership.
Tesla did not respond to earlier news agency requests for comment on the meetings.
