Tesla reportedly has not honored its summer internship promises to college students.
This week, several students posted their experiences on their LinkedIn profiles. Bloomberg broke the story first on Wednesday.
The outlet reported that one of the students said Tesla told her via phone on Monday she did not have a summer internship. She attributed this to recent efforts by Tesla to reduce costs and increase the number of employees.
Tesla announced in mid-April that it would be shedding 10% of its 140.400 employees. Around 6,000 layoffs will affect workers in Texas and California.
The Information reported that the EV manufacturer has indicated they will be laying off more employees, including a large part of the Supercharger Team, in addition to initial eliminations.
Bloomberg reported that another college student told them on Wednesday that their offer was also withdrawn with little notice. He reported in a LinkedIn posting that, before Tesla’s backtracking, he already had housing secured for his internship at the EV manufacturer that was scheduled to start in three weeks.
The reported withdrawal of internship offers by Tesla came at a time when many universities are winding down their academic year and students are preparing to join companies for summer internships.
Musk’s EV company typically hires interns in the spring, summer, and fall. According to the most recent report of the company, more than 6,000 interns are hired by Tesla each year.
Tesla, which experienced some turmoil in recent weeks said that its planned headcount cuts “will prepare Tesla to our next phase in growth as we are developing the most revolutionary technologies for auto, energy and AI” when it revealed them in mid-April in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company is working on several projects, including a new robotaxi and vehicles that are cheaper.
