Tesla workers file motion to stop layoffs for less than legally required

Two laid-off Tesla workers filed an emergency motion on Tuesday to stop the electric car maker from seeking separation agreements for much less than legally required.

As part of Tesla's ongoing layoffs, it asked employees to release all of their claims in exchange for a severance of just one or two weeks' pay and benefits, a motion filed with a Texas court alleges.

It said that this is a small portion of the 60 days of pay and benefits that the employees would be entitled to under a labor law - the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification WARN Act.

In May and June, the two workers were among more than 500 workers laid off at Tesla's gigafactory plant in Sparks, Nevada.

The motion said that employees who have lost their jobs are eager to get whatever additional pay they can get, but they also have no reason to know that they are entitled to more due to Tesla's violations of the WARN Act.

Tesla hopes to buy off of the claims of the class members for pennies on the dollar. Tesla responded immediately to an email that asked for comments.

The two former employees had also filed a lawsuit in June alleging Tesla violated the law by carrying out a mass layoff without providing the required 60 day notice.

Elon Musk told top managers last month he had a bad feeling about the economy and that the company had to cut staff by 10%.

The billionaire said the 10% cuts would only apply to salaried workers and that hourly staff numbers were still expected to grow.

Tesla laid off about 200 employees working on its Autopilot driver-assistant system in San Mateo, California. Most of the laid-off people were hourly workers.

Wall Street analysts said yesterday that Tesla faces a series of hurdles ranging from production snags to rising inflation that could hit profits, as it reported a fall in deliveries for the first time in two years.