Tesla announced significant layoffs and the departure of two senior executives on Monday, signaling increasing challenges amid rising competition and falling sales. Two Syracuse University faculty members shared their reactions to this news in the comments below. If you’d like to schedule an interview with either of them, please reach out to Vanessa Marquette, media relations specialist, at vrmarque@syr.edu.
Matthew Huber, a professor at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, specializes in energy and capitalism, climate politics, and resource geography. He writes: “Our political leaders continue to say we can trust the green transition to the private sector, and time and time again they prove they’re not up to the task. Tesla should be expanding employment and investment in more affordable EVs and they’re doing the opposite because they prioritize their stock price and profits over responding to climate change.”
Lynne Vincent, associate professor at Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management, studies industrial and labor relations and organizational behavior. She writes: “Given the changes in the electric vehicle market and the increased viability of competitors, the strain that Tesla is feeling is not surprising. Tesla might have been an early mover in the electric vehicle market, but they are not the only mover now. Other organizations are on their tail now. Tesla is facing external threats from competitors and internal challenges such as Rohan Patel, senior global director of public policy and business development, and Andrew Baglino, senior vice president of powertrain and energy engineering, leaving the organization. Tesla will have to make some choices about how to manage these changes and support their remaining workforce. The remaining employees will be experiencing significant anxiety and concern right now regarding their futures at the organization and how their work processes will be changing. Replacing Baglino and Patel also will be challenging. If Tesla is lucky, their exits were planned, and Tesla has a leadership succession plan in place.”
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