"Slept In Parking Lot": Laid-Off Tesla Employee On His "Sacrifices" For The Company

Tesla is laying off more than 10 per cent of its global workforce. The job reductions come after rapid growth led to duplication of roles, Elon Musk said in an email to staff, as per news agency AFP. Recently, the company slashed a newly formed marketing team as part of the layoffs, reversing course from a traditional advertising push that Mr Musk greenlighted less than a year ago. Amid this, a Production Supervisor at the company recently shared his layoff story on LinkedIn.

Nico Murillo was fired from the company on April 15. Describing his day, he said that he opened his laptop at 4:30 am and found that his account was deactivated. He said that it felt like another IT problem, so he just ignored it. Half an hour later, he checked his email while on the way to work. One email read, "Unfortunately as a result, your position has been eliminated by this restructuring." He said that his manager told him "everyone got it, we'll get more info later". However, once he reached the office, he was unable to "badge in" and the security officer took his badge and told him he was laid off.

"Tesla timeline: 07/22/2019 - 04/15/2024. About 5 years at Tesla. Half a decade!." he wrote. Mr Murillo said, "At one point in 2023 I was even sacrificing sleeping in my car on work days just to avoid commuting to work. Showered at the factory and slept in the parking lot. Microwaved dinner in the break room."

The 29-year-old said that he "sacrificed a lot for the company". "This is just a small part of a chapter that is ending, and there's a whole book waiting to be written. I'm only 29 years old and have a lot more career time in me. I went from Production Associate, to Lead Production Associate, to being a Production Supervisor. Starting from the very bottom and worked my way up. Learned a lot of adapting to the ever-changing environment, to working with less but getting more done," he said.

Mr Murillo also remembered his supervisor Louie Afusia who taught him about "delegating, following up, and finishing through." The former Tesla employee added, "He used to tell me: 'listen to the people, not against them.' I even played semi pro football with him one Spring season. But he taught me a lot about leadership, and i'm glad to have met him in my career at Tesla. He was this huge Somoan USO, that had a good heart. Louie passed away in 02/2023. He's gone, but not forgotten."

Concluding the post, he wrote, "How you make something last forever is you inspire the next generation and then the next. Always leave the place better than you found it. One thing Tony Stark (Ironman) said in the movie Avengers Endgame: 'Part of the journey is the end'."
Since being shared, his post has amassed a lot of reactions from internet users.

"There's always room for talents and who knows, it might be a million times better than you can imagine. Stay strong and don't let it get on you," said a user.

"How you have wrote this with such grace and strength...wish you all the best for your next chapter of the journey," commented a person.

A third wrote, "Sorry to hear about the being being laidoff. Amazing story about growth and development. You definitely have so much time to build your career from this point."

"Any company that lays you off by text is not a company you want to work for," said a person.