Tesla Is Allegedly Withholding Wages Of German Employees On Sick Leave

Amid a streak of absenteeism at its Grünheide, Brandenburg, factory in Germany, Tesla has reportedly withheld pay from its employees on medical leave. As reported by German newspaper Handelsblatt, the automaker sent mass letters to employees who have called in sick, which expressed doubts as to the veracity of their claims of illness or injury. Not only that, but Tesla also asked said employees to divulge their diagnoses and release their doctors from their “duty of confidentiality.” The Berlin-Brandenburg Gigafactory produces the company’s battery cells, as well as the Tesla Model Y.

The Brandenburg Facility Has Seen High Levels Of Worker Callout

The automaker’s workforce problems in Germany have been evident since at least last year. As part of its continuing coverage of the matter, Handelsblatt reported in November 2024 that the German autoworkers’ union IG Metall carried out a survey and discovered that employees at the Tesla facility complained overwhelmingly of challenging working conditions, not an uncommon claim. The survey, which polled 1,200 employees, found that only one in ten said they thought they could endure the conditions until retirement, suggesting a high level of turnover in the future.

Furthermore, 83 percent of respondents often felt overworked and that 59 percent regularly experienced physical discomfort due to their work. That survey data would help to explain the Gigafactory’s high worker absenteeism, which reached a whopping 17 percent last summer. Facility manager André Thierig attributed those sick days to worker laziness during a company meeting in July 2023, saying the company would not tolerate forcing some employees into extra labor to compensate for those who “simply don’t feel like coming in to work.” Thierig later incentivized attendance by offering a €1,000 bonus to workers who rarely called in sick.

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Tesla Wants To Crack Down On Phony Sick Days

Last September, the facility chief announced that factory management would be making unannounced visits to the homes of employees on sick leave, ostensibly to scrutinize their injuries first-hand. However, it seems that those threats weren’t enough because the company is now suspending wages and threatening to demand repayment, as announced by the aforementioned letter. Tesla is also asking employees to voluntarily share their diagnoses, an odd move since workers have no obligation to disclose their medical situations and employers in Germany are not allowed to ask.

We’re not sure Tesla’s actions are going to reflect very well on the company, which has seen sales in Germany and other international markets nosedive in the wake of company CEO Elon Musk’s actions as an advisor to President Trump. The European country also typically has strong worker protections, which will further alienate employees from Tesla if it continues to disregard their medical concerns, as IG Metall has alleged. The union represents a significant portion of the workforce at the German Gigafactory, but not a majority, so it often finds itself in contention with facility management, according to Handelsblatt.

Source: Handelsblatt (1, 2)