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Tesla's mass firings spread to SolarCity

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Re: Tesla's mass firings spread to SolarCity

#111
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m surprised. At the rate PV has been falling these subsidies are probably negligible (federal rebate withstanding). I purchased PV because the cost with a 20-year loan comes out to be 13c kWh, meanwhile PG&E charges 29c kWh. And the loan interest is tax-deductible.

What company did you use? I have received 3 quotes and none make much sense.

Solarcity. Highly recommended.

Re: Tesla's mass firings spread to SolarCity

#112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Recall that Musk has been begging Congress to end the subsidies (broadly defined), which are distorting the market.

Odd that he didn't have an objection to it when Tesla was benefiting from it.. but once Tesla 3 sales crossed that 200k threshold, and set the end date on the subsidy for Tesla... then Musk comes out and says 'We MUST end this subsidy for everyone immediately'. Real principled stance there.

I suppose it's a quick way to kill of the competition.

Re: Tesla's mass firings spread to SolarCity

#113
post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't see evidence that Tesla is doing any more than that If the lack of promised performance reviews is accurate, that's the obvious issue - it implies a labor force decision disguised as a performance decision. This is a pretty common move in e.g. game development, so it certainly isn't unthinkable. The point about total workforce size is well taken, though; this still seems like it could be as simple as "times…

Would you say 3,6 % is that stringent though? I remember GE under Welch fired 10 % of the lowest performers every year, that seemed kind of stringent. But Tesla is fast-hiring and acquiring, so seem to have a larger need to fix hiring-errors than GE. At the end of 2015 they had only 14,000 employees! In light of that, 3,6 % seems completely reasonable to me. Low, even. Concerning the performance review: would expect…

> Welch has said his first rule of firing an employee as a manager is to avoid any element of surprise. Your workplace ought to be built on constructive criticism and feedback.

> Expectations should be so clear that anyone in the aforementioned bottom tenth of your firm knows they'll be there before the ranking and yanking starts. "Anybody who is fired and surprised? That's the bosses' fault," Welch said on Bloomberg TV in 2015.

Contrast the GE description to what happened here with Tesla: absolute blindsiding where the employees were not given any performance feedback before getting axed.

https://www.thestreet.com/story/14315785/1/how-to-fire-peopl...

Re: Tesla's mass firings spread to SolarCity

#114
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. Calling 3.6% a "mass firing" to me looks like pushing a narrative.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layoff > "Mass layoff" is defined by the United States Department of Labor as 50 or more workers laid off from the same company around the same time.

Is there a difference in this case between "laid off" and "fired"?

Re: Tesla's mass firings spread to SolarCity

#115
> SolarCity employees say they were surprised to be told they were fired for performance reasons, claiming Tesla had not conducted performance reviews since acquiring the solar energy business.

Is it possible the performance reasons cited may have been in reference to performance in sales rather than performance in work? Otherwise it does seem odd to dismiss over employee performance if reviews has yet to be conducted by Tesla.

Re: Tesla's mass firings spread to SolarCity

#116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/energy/solarcity-stop... >>The PUC “has effectively shut down the rooftop-solar industry and taken the extraordinary step to punish over 12,000 existing solar customers, including schools, with exorbitant fees in what appears to be an attempt to protect the profits of the state’s largest utility. All three members of the PUC, who voted unanimously to change the rules, were appoi…

Net metering isn't even a US law thing, it's a physics law thing. Just basic physics should tell you that selling power for the same price you buy it doesn't make sense due to heat loss in the lines. If you want a battery buy one, don't try to use the grid as a giant battery.

Potentially the net metered electricity doesn't have to travel as far. Maybe it goes to the house next door.

That said, it makes sense to steeply adjust the rate if the net metering starts causing long distance flows.

Re: Tesla's mass firings spread to SolarCity

#117

I’ve been with a bunch of smaller companies and have seen layoffs as well as been laid off before/during and after mergers. Not sure why this should be surprising in the case of Tesla + Solar City.

It's mostly of note precisely because they are not layoffs according to Tesla. They were full on fired with cause. It's strange to say the least. What would trigger a mass firing like that. It's unusual.

I'm a SolarCity customer and absolutely despise them. Their customer service makes Comcast look like a saint. I can't help but cross my fingers this is a sign Tesla might be doing something about it. But I'm not getting too hopeful.

Re: Tesla's mass firings spread to SolarCity

#118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which cause? Employees are free to convert their paycheck into stocks. The better they (as a whole) do, the more profit each gets.

Not if they are not being paid enough to have the capital to invest. That is why I suggested that in lieu of increased pay, that workers be further compensated in more stock

They are being paid enough to invest.

Re: Tesla's mass firings spread to SolarCity

#119

- It's not mass firing. It's not even 4% of the workforce. - So, employees were "surprised". As most people who are fired, ever, in any company and epoch. How is this news at all? - Recalling 11,000 units might not at all be connected with layoffs. Implying otherwise is a cheap yellow press journalism. - "Citing fears of retaliation from Tesla". Yeah, because Tesla definitely is known for pursuing people like they're…

Most employees aren't surprised when they're fired.

Thats indicative of terrible management.

In a healthy organization managers let individual contributors know when they're falling behind, and give them the opportunity and guidance to get on track.

Re: Tesla's mass firings spread to SolarCity

#120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> However, in the case of Musk's enterprises, where there is this larger goal that is finally seeming to become possible, I am torn. I feel that anyone that works at these places should know and be a zealot for the Cause... While critics often mock the “cult” of Musk, his defenders usually deny the characterization. You rarely see such an explicit acknowledgment and endorsement of it. The honesty is refreshing, I gue…

'Cult of Musk' suggests it is about Musk, and not about the cause (of going to Mars). I think we can all agree that some types of work are dangerous and poorly paid, but people choose to do it because they believe in a cause. For example, relief work in war-zones. I just tend to think of Space-X as a geeky way of doing that.

I'm not sure the hundreds of domestic solar manufacturer employees who suddenly discovered they were "underperforming" yesterday are likely to agree that humanity's chances of reaching Mars are contingent on their mute acceptance of the dangers to their livelihoods of such such capricious management...
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