Elon Musk: Tesla denies firing workers over union campaign

Elon Musk's electric car maker Tesla has denied firing employees in response to a group of workers trying to form a union in New York state.

The company said it had laid off 27 staff for "poor performance" and that they "were identified... well before the union campaign was announced".

Organisers in the city of Buffalo alleged staff were sacked a day after the union went public with its plans.

They accused Tesla of firing more than 30 people to try to quash the campaign.

Tesla said in a blog post that the decision to lay off the workers, who were part of a 675-strong Autopilot labelling team, had been made on 3 February.

The firm said it only learned in hindsight that one of the 27 impacted employees "officially identified as part of the union campaign".

"The employees let go as part of this process received prior feedback on their poor performance from their managers over the course of the review period. Despite feedback, they did not demonstrate sufficient improvement," it added.

Mr Musk has been outspoken about his opposition to unions in the past.

"I strongly feel this is in retaliation to the committee announcement and it's shameful," said Arian Berek, a fired member of the union's organising committee.

In the complaint filed with government labour officials, the union cited 18 people it said the company had fired "in retaliation for union activity and to discourage union activity".

Organisers said, based on a company chat, they believed more people had been fired and expected to add names to the complaint. They said they were still confirming how many of those fired had been directly involved in the campaign or had just indicated their support.

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The Buffalo facility employs about 2,000 people, according to organisers from Tesla Workers United, which is backed by the same union that launched organising efforts at Starbucks.

The group is now seeking support from Tesla workers in Buffalo to hold a vote about joining a union. It sent a letter to the company on Tuesday outlining its plans and asking leaders to agree to ground rules for a "fair" election.

A day later, campaigners said, Tesla fired more than 30 workers and sent an email informing staff of a policy that bars recording of workplace conversations without the consent of all parties.

Organisers said the rule violated their rights under federal and state laws.

The National Labor Relations Board has previously found that Tesla violated labour rules during an organising effort at its car manufacturing plant in California.

"We're angry. This won't slow us down. This won't stop us. They want us to be scared, but I think they just started a stampede," said Sara Costantino, current Tesla employee and organising committee member.