NetEase Technology News, June 26, according to foreign media reports, Tesla CEO Elon Musk (Elon Musk) when restarting the Fremont, California factory, said that employees can voluntarily stay at home, but choose to be unpaid The employees on vacation were fired by the company.

Last month, when Elon Musk ignored the orders of the Alameda County government and reopened Tesla’s car factory in Fremont, California, he promised Tesla employees that if they were upset, You can stay at home. Musk said they will not be punished for this.

He wrote in an email to employees of the California plant in early May that if "it makes you uncomfortable to come back to work at this time, please do not feel compelled to do so."

When the factory restarted production in the second week of May, two Tesla workers chose unpaid leave to protect themselves and their families. The two said they received notice of dismissal, accusing them of "failure to return to work."

Employees Carlos Gabriel and Jessica Naro said they received notification from Tesla’s Human Resources Department last week on the grounds that they were obviously absent and the company was unable to contact To them. Two workers provided evidence that they continued to communicate with management. They believe that the reason why they received the notice of dismissal was because they publicly expressed concerns about the working conditions of the factory.

Gabriel and Naro said they have now received calls from human resources representatives. Naro was told that she could continue to work at the factory, but asked for a clear notification of the return date.

Six other workers also expressed their concerns about factory safety, some of whom asked for anonymity because of concerns about unemployment. They said that Tesla failed to comply with the rules for maintaining social distance, and it also failed to enforce the rules about wearing masks and machine cleaning. They also complained about the company's lack of transparency in confirmed cases and response measures.

An employee said that the employees "shouldered behind each other." Another employee said that some employees had left their posts for a full two weeks, and colleagues were only told that they were “sick” without further explanation. Managers cited the Health Privacy Law as refusing to disclose specific circumstances. But the workers said that Tesla did not even widely describe the possible spread of the new coronavirus in the factory.

In the car seat factory near Tesla's main plant, workers have been informed that there are two confirmed cases among workers in the early and late shifts, and at least three others have been exposed to the virus.

Branton Phillips, who works on the Tesla Model S sedan and Model X SUV production line, said that when he returned from the factory, he would do one thing every day: spray the equipment with disinfectant and then take off his clothes Come down and put in a bag. When he gets home, he will take a bath before saying hello to his wife, Shirley, who has diabetes and heart disease. Phillips said he also knew the risks, but needed work to get a steady income.

He compared the situation of not wearing a mask at work with the situation of wearing a mask across the country. "There is a huge contrast between the inside of the factory and the outside world," he added.

Tesla's confrontation with public health officials first, and then with company employees, has become one of the most compelling corporate struggles in response to the outbreak. Musk and Tesla argued that factory work is essential, but Alameda County disputed this. Some workers also said that Tesla's production methods endangered their lives.

Companies around the world are striving to balance the necessary measures to limit the spread of the virus and the need to reopen business. For example, Amazon has kept its warehouse running, but it has been reported that dozens of confirmed cases have appeared.

Alameda County, where Tesla and its Fremont factory are located, has so far refused to disclose how many confirmed cases the factory has reported. The factory currently has about 10,000 employees.

At the same time, there has been a surge in confirmed cases of new coronaviruses in California, especially in Alameda County.

Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. Alameda County spokeswoman Neetu Balram said that considering public attention, local officials are reviewing Tesla's policies to determine what information related to Tesla will be published.

She said: "Tesla will report the confirmed cases of employees directly to the Alameda County Public Health Department according to the specific site plan, which is also a requirement for all reopening companies."

Although CEO Musk is known for being outspoken on social media, Tesla is still one of the most mysterious companies in Silicon Valley. Internal employees, like the public, can only understand Musk's thinking patterns through the sporadic content on Twitter.

Initially, Musk scolded the fear of the new coronavirus as "stupid" in early March. Shortly thereafter, Alameda County issued a "refuge in place" order in mid-March, becoming one of the first regions in the United States to take severe measures to curb the spread of the epidemic. Musk told employees in an email at the time that the factory will continue to operate and he will go to work in person, but if they feel uncomfortable or sick, they can stay at home.

Eventually, officials from the cities of Fremont and Alameda intervened and Tesla agreed to gradually reduce it to the "minimum basic operations" allowed by the regulations. But this is not the end of the struggle.

In late April, Musk set off a volatile storm on Twitter and attacked the local "refuge in place" order. In early May, Musk violated the order to reopen the factory.

Eventually, Alameda County officials made concessions and agreed to allow Tesla to fully reopen on May 18.

Earlier in June, there were reports that workers at the Tesla seat assembly plant were told that several colleagues tested positive for the new coronavirus. Alameda County officials also confirmed that Tesla reported a confirmed case to Fremont. Laurie Shelby, Tesla’s vice president for environment, health and safety, told employees in an email that the virus has not spread in the workplace, but the source of infection in each confirmed case is unclear.

Jane McAlevey, a senior policy researcher at the Labor Research and Education Center at the University of California, Berkeley, said Musk's approach to employees is typical of Silicon Valley technology companies.

She said: "He caused countless troubles to the workers." "He actually emphasized that health and safety violations existed long before the epidemic. Employees are often dragged down by various commitments and hasty production, and now Ma Skek still did it."

Some workers say they have been worried that they will be infected with the virus since they learned of the confirmed case. This problem in the automotive production line is particularly worthy of attention. Many workers will touch the control parts and share the equipment. Some people huddled together to assemble the car.

One worker said that at some meetings, the distance between workers changed from 2 meters to less than 1 meter. Workers said that they rely on masks to ensure their safety, wearing masks for up to 12 hours. Workers need to disinfect the equipment regularly, but the implementation is very small. "We rarely do that," the worker said.

Factory employee Phillips said: "It's very annoying." "It's hot and smelly inside. We work 11 hours a day and have a lot of stress. This makes me sometimes very nervous."

These concerns prompted some workers to stay at home. They were once gratified by the unpaid leave promised by Tesla. But Gabriel and Naro were told last week that they were fired, and they thought it was retaliation for talking about factory conditions and worrying about returning to work in an interview this month.

Tesla's acting human resources director Vince Woodard wrote in an email to Gabriel in May, "Carlos, there is no need to think you will lose your job." "If you do this Feeling uncomfortable returning to work, you can stay at home without being punished, but during this time there is no pay."

However, the day after the interview on June 15, Gabriel and Naro received an email from the company's human resources department titled "Failed to Return to Work." The company's human resources department informed them that they would be fired. But the two can also dispute the matter and be recalled, but this means they will have to return to work.

Gabriel and Naro said they both responded to the email. Naro kept her job. Gabriel said he has lost trust in Tesla. He refused to talk to a human resources representative unless the call could be recorded or e-mailed. He did not get a reply. Gabriel is convinced that he has lost his position in the powertrain workshop because he cannot risk returning to the working environment he has learned.

He said: "Some people don't really care about wearing personal protective equipment." "Protective equipment is thrown on the ground after use. People are afraid to go to the toilet and dare not eat."

Naro chose not to return to work temporarily because her 6-year-old son was hospitalized this year due to respiratory disease. Naro said that because of the very loose distance requirements, she was unable to work on public machines for several hours and had to be crowded with others. Naro said he believed Musk in early May, but his job was threatened.

"I actually talked to a supervisor... He said, can you be sure when you will come back? I said, wait for the epidemic to end." (Chenchen)

Source: NetEase Technology Channel, translated by Google Translate