Jobs
After New York factory reopened, Tesla worker tests positive for COVID-19
According to an employee at the factory who talked to The Verge on the condition of anonymity, a Tesla employee tested positive for COVID-19 at the solar panel factory in Buffalo , New York. It's the fourth identified Tesla employee to test positive for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus but the first since the company reopened its factories in the United States in May. One Panasonic employee, who shares space with Tesla at their factories in New York and Nevada, also tested positive before the shutdowns back in March.
Tesla quietly reopened the facility in New York on May 19, after the state gave the area the green light, according to a new letter from Buffalo Company First to local officials first published on Friday. But the company isn't back at full manufacturing capacity and won't be there for a while. In reality, Tesla told those officials that, because of the shutdown, it furloughed 984 "full-time Tesla independent contract jobs" in April, and will go forward with just under 500 full-time staff there for now.
The furloughs indicate that Tesla struggled to reach a crucial job target that the state had tied to the Buffalo factory's initial funding. Tesla had told state officials that just before the pandemic hit the Nation it would surpass the target of 1,500 workers, but it has now asked the state for another year to achieve those hiring targets so it doesn't have to pay a $41.2 million fine. (The State states that the request is being reviewed.)
When those factories reopened, Tesla took back furloughed employees in California and Nevada, and it's unclear why they're not getting the ones back in New York. The business failed to respond to numerous emails , phone calls and texts asking for comment.
Last week, according to the employee, who works for Panasonic Solar North America (PSNA), news from the latest positive test was shared with some staff at the plant. Tesla found out about the positive test during the week from May 18th to May 22nd — the same week that PSNA brought back its own workers, as first reported by The Verge, after shutting down operations in March there.
After returning to work Tesla is not alone in finding a new COVID-19 event. All three Detroit car makers have had successful worker tests, as do other food industry firms.
Although both companies are now back at the factory to operate, PSNA won't be there for long. In February, the company announced it was ending its involvement at the Buffalo plant, and told the 400 employees it hires there that they will only have employment until the end of May. But due to the closure, the company will keep some workers on until the end of June to finish filling out orders for the solar panel equipment it produces, before leaving the factory entirely in September.
"If you are interested in staying with Panasonic and are open to the possibility of moving to the Reno / Sparks area , please join us."
Tesla CEO Elon Musk fought hard to hold Tesla's California factory open when the local stay-at - home order first came into effect in March, and reopened the facility in May in defiance of that order, going so far as to label the orders "racist."
The company continues to take action to ensure that the Fremont plant, also in California, remains operational. Tesla sent letters this week to workers that they should show if they are stopped for breaching the local curfew linked to George Floyd's killing protests.
The letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Verge, says the local police department agreed that Tesla workers will "continue to come to work during curfew hours at Tesla Fremont locations" if they are doing "important" work.
But Musk and Tesla have made no specific attempts to keep the factory in Buffalo open. There, Tesla makes equipment for its Superchargers, but its key items are its solar panels and tiles called "Solar Roof." In April, Tesla CEO Elon Musk clearly said the company was "gaining traction with Solar Roof before COVID effectively shut us down, both from the ability to build and from the ability to get permits."
Musk also said in March that Tesla might be using the Buffalo factory during the shutdown to manufacture ventilators for COVID-19 patients, but the company ultimately focused on getting medical equipment from places like China instead.
