Tesla is currently employing 1,536 workers at its South Park Avenue factory in South Buffalo. The company will now avoid $41.2 million penalty.

Tesla Inc. is on track to meet their employment goal at their South Buffalo factory. They are required to have 1,460 jobs in Buffalo by the end of the year. This was part of their agreement with the state in exchange for spending more than $950 million to build and equip the plant. The electric vehicle giant was supposed to meet the hiring deadline in April 2020 and fulfill the mandate of hiring 1,460 workers. They were moving towards the goal of meeting the deadline but Covid-19 hit and they closed their plant.

Tesla has Topped the Employment Goal

As of Nov 10 2021, Tesla reported the employment of 1,536 full-time and 21 part-time employees at the Buffalo plant. Additionally, 704 employees are working at various other locations across the state.  Tesla faces a penalty of $41.2 million for any year that it falls short of its employment target. Although, they were able to get an extension in 2020 and the new deadline is 31^st Dec 2021. So technically, this is the first year when they need to meet the target.

The state officials noted that the current employment numbers are not official. The penalty will be based on Tesla’s head count on 31^st Dec. However, the numbers of November indicate that the vehicle company is well on track to meet their employment goal.

Buffalo Billion Economic Development Initiative

Tesla’s agreement with the state is part of Buffalo Billion economic development initiative. The agreement only requires the company to have a specific number of jobs in Buffalo. It does not have any provisions regarding the nature of jobs and compensation associated with various jobs.

Tesla’s Expansion at Buffalo Plant

The company is not shifting other type of works to their Buffalo plant. The company is making electronic components for its electric vehicle Superchargers and inverters for some of its battery products. They also hired hundreds of people to work on its autonomous driving programs for electric vehicles. Additionally, at the mid-November employment level, the state subsidies for the Tesla factory work out to more than $620,000 per full-time job.

Browse for job opportunities at Tesla

Keep up with the latest employment news across US at News