Nearly a third of shop floor workers at Tesla’s German vehicle plant are petitioning the company for longer work breaks and more staff to offset the expected extra workload stemming from the redesigned Model Y.
A Tesla works council meeting with representatives of the IG Metall union will be handing site managers a petition signed by 3,086 plant workers calling for changes as the company begins to raise production output for the midsize battery-electric SUV, Reuters reports.
However, Tesla counters that its own survey of a claimed 7,500 staff of about 11,000 workers at the plant near Berlin suggests 80% are satisfied with their working conditions with just 5% unhappy.
The figures claimed by the company do not match the union’s roster of petition signatories and speculation grows that labor strife at the plant are far from over.
Tesla has added more labor force to cope with the extra Model Y workload by presenting 300 temporary workers with permanent contracts that kick in next month.
A representative for IG Metall tells the news agency that while the union welcomes the added staff, it remains concerned this will not be enough to meet demands on workers when Model Y production ramps-up.
Tesla’s popularity in Germany has been plummeting along with sales. Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk was very public in his support of the extreme-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party during the 2025 federal elections. In December 2024, he publicly expressed support for the AfD on his social media platform, X , stating that “only the AfD can save Germany.” He further reinforced his endorsement by publishing an unpopular opinion piece in the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, describing the AfD as “the last spark of hope for this country.” Musk is a native of South Africa with dual citizenship in the U.S. where he is attempting to downsize the U.S. government with mass firings as an advisor to President Trump who is in a war of words with the EU.
Tesla is experiencing a significant decline in sales across several European countries. Sales in February were down 76% in Germany, compared with the same month a year earlier. Sales were down 45% in France last month.
