Elon Musk Laying Off Hundreds of New York Workers in ‘Worst Way’

Elon Musk is being criticized for the way he's laying off hundreds of New York workers as he struggles to keep Tesla's stock price from plummeting further.

In January, Tesla lost over $70 billion in just one day after an earnings call laid out the company's challenges. Widening competition and slow growth in the electric car market has sent Tesla shares tumbling. Musk's questionable leadership has also been called out by analysts who say gambling on the erratic genius' success is just too risky. The company's stock has dropped over 37% this year.

Tesla Laying off Hundreds of New York Workers

According to INC, Tesla is laying off 14,000 employees which equals around ten percent of its entire workforce. Nearly 300 of those workers are being let go from Tesla's Buffalo plant that manufactures solar roof tiles and fast-charging equipment, among other technologies.

The manner in which those employees have been laid off, however, has called Musk's leadership into further question. Earlier this week, before any talk of layoffs was made public, thousands of employees received a late-night email informing them that they were no longer employed by the company. INC says many of those workers were let go in the "worst way" possible. Some of those employees were still in the building working overnight hours when they received notice, while others did not see the email until they arrived at work the next morning and were unable to use their credentials to enter the building.

Buffalo, New York Plant to Lose 14% of Workforce

A WARN notice filed with the State of New York shows that 285 of Buffalo's 2,032 workers will be laid off. The number represents about 14% of the company's New York workforce.

During a heated discussion on CNBC on Wednesday, commentators blamed Elon Musk's erratic behavior for the lack of confidence in Tesla. From what some say has been outright lying about the company's future to boost stock prices to mismanaging announcements and bumbling this week's layoffs, the company continues to lose support from investors.

According to CNBC, Musk sent out an email to employees this week apologizing for underreporting the amount of severance that they would be receiving. There was no mention of the manner in which the layoffs were announced.