Tesla Asks Court To Dismiss Lawsuit Over Mass Layoffs

On Thursday, Elon Musk’s Tesla asked a US court to dismiss a lawsuit claiming the luxury EV maker violated federal law by letting hundreds of employees go without providing advance notice.

In a filing, Tesla argued that the terminated employees had signed valid agreements to bring employment-related legal disputes in arbitration and to refrain from class-action participation. 

The company also argued that the case should be dismissed because Tesla was simply “right-sizing” by laying off employees that had been performing poorly. It claimed it had not engaged in layoffs that required advance notice to be given.

The lawsuit was filed in June by two former employees who claim they were terminated from Tesla’s Gigafactory plant in Sparks, Nevada alongside more than 500 other Tesla workers 

“Tesla has simply notified the employees that their terminations would be effective immediately,” the complaint read.