Tesla union calls out a 'culture of fear' at a plant where managers visit the homes of workers out sick

Tesla’s (TSLA ) sprawling German plant has had a rough year, marked with protests , arson , and even missing coffee mugs . Now, the automaker is grappling with workers allegedly abusing the automaker’s sick leave policy.

André Thierig, the manufacturing director at Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg, told workers recently that its rate of sick leave in the factory of 12,000 employees had risen to 17% as of August, Handelsblatt reports . That’s a big jump from the 5.2% Germany’s automotive industry reported in 2023 — and managers aren’t happy.

“We will not tolerate some people bending their backs for others who just don’t feel like coming to work,” Thierig said. “There is no room in this factory for people who “don’t get out of bed in the morning.”

But Thierig went beyond simply chastising employees. Instead, top-level managers picked 30 employees who had been on sick leave and visited their homes. Unsurprisingly, workers weren’t very happy about their bosses knocking on their doors.

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