Tesla plans to hire another 1,000 workers at its Gigafactory outside Berlin as it moves to increase production at its only factory in Europe.
Tesla: Increase in staff and production
The hiring plan comes as Tesla targets 7,500 vehicles per week at the Grünheide factory by October — a sharp acceleration after more than a year of declining sales in Europe.
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The new hires are in addition to the 1,000 additional positions Tesla announced in April, which the company said it would complete by the end of June to increase production by about a fifth, to about 6,000 vehicles per week.
If Tesla goes ahead with the plan, the target of 7,500 cars per week (in October) would represent an additional 25% increase and put Giga Berlin on pace for around 390,000 vehicles per year.
That number is far short of the 500,000 cars Tesla targeted when it opened the factory about four years ago, but it will mark the highest sustained production the factory has ever achieved.
The company has also increased its battery staff . InMay, it announced plans to hire more than 1,500 employees for battery cell production in Germany, years after Elon Musk promised to turn Grünheide into the world's largest battery factory.
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Major changes in Europe
After two straight years of declining sales in Europe — including a nearly 27% drop last year — Tesla registrations have been up for several consecutive months. Registrations in the EU rose 67% year-over-year in April, and more than doubled in June.
A major factor in the recovery is something that has nothing to do with Tesla: fuel prices. Gasoline prices across Europe have risen since late February, pushing more buyers toward electric vehicles. Battery-electric cars accounted for 19.7% of new registrations in the EU through April, up from 15.3% a year earlier.
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Renewed national incentive programs and a recovering overall auto market have added to Tesla. Earnings were strongest in Northern and Western Europe, with France, Sweden, Denmark and Ireland posting triple-digit percentage increases in April.
This is the clearest sign yet that Tesla's European slump is over — at least for now. You don't add 2,000 workers in three months or increase production by 25% if you're worried about demand.
