Tesla has been forced to rehire employees in its Supercharger division after CEO Elon Musk laid them off en masse just a couple of weeks ago.
Musk surprised the industry when he fired Rebecca Tinucci, senior director of the Supercharger group, and laid off most of the 500-person Supercharger team. The move was especially difficult to understand given the importance of the charging network to the company’s future, especially as multiple automakers have signed deals to use it.
In the aftermath of of the firings and layoffs, Tesla has been forced to start rehiring employees, according to a report by Bloomberg. Some of the rehired employees include Max de Zegher, director of the company’s North American Supercharger operations.
It’s unclear under what terms de Zegher has returned, although it’s hard to imagine he didn’t ask for more money or some other concession, under the circumstances.
Musk has a history of knee-jerk, disruptive decision-making. He engaged in similar behavior at Twitter, essentially tanking the social media platform he spent billions buying. Only time will tell if Tesla begins suffering a similar fate.