Tesla re-entered Singapore last year amid huge anticipation, posting job openings and launching its first Southeast Asian retail store in Millenia Walk.
However, more than one year later, things aren’t looking as rosy for the company.
Tesla’s country manager for Singapore has had his role eliminated after just over one year in the job, following the company’s 10% workforce reduction.
Source: Courtesy of Pontiac Land Group
He will not be taken over by anybody.
In a LinkedIn post on Saturday (11 Jun), Mr Christopher Bousigues announced that he was leaving his job, effective that day.
This was after the company announced that 10% of its workforce would be laid off.
His role was among the unfortunate ones to be “eliminated”.
Despite how it ended, he said he’s proud to have been Tesla’s first country manager in South-east Asia, and thanked those who supported him.
According to Mr Bousigues’ LinkedIn profile, he joined Tesla in Singapore as country manager in Jun 2021.
That means he was in the job for just over one year.
Source: Christopher Bousigues on Facebook
Though his time in the company was short, it was productive, as according to him he built Tesla’s Singapore business from the ground up.
Under him, two showrooms and one service centre were set up and a network of seven superchargers across the island was developed.
The Model 3 is now “a common sight” in Singapore, and the Model Y was successfully launched just before his departure, he added.
Now that his job is no more, he’ll most likely return to Europe, as he moved to Singapore just for this job.
Mr Bousigues’ laying off comes after Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk announced job cuts at the company earlier in Jun.
He sent a message to executives saying he had a “super bad feeling” about the economy, reported Reuters.
Source: Twitter
Thus, he needed to cut about 10% of salaried headcount, he said in another email to staff on 3 Jun.
This is because the company has become “overstaffed in many areas”, though this does not apply to staff building cars, battery packs or installing solar.
At the end of 2021, Tesla and its subsidiaries employed close to 100,000 staff, Reuters said, citing the company’s annual filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
It seems the overstaffing issue affected Tesla Singapore too, as nobody will take over Mr Bousigues as country manager, The Straits Times (ST) reported, citing sources.
The position will simply not exist any more.
Instead, Tesla’s Hong Kong office will look after operations in Singapore.
As Tesla cuts staff, it seems even a position as important as country manager hasn’t been spared.
This may prompt many to fear that Singaporeans could also have lost their jobs amid the workforce reduction.
Hopefully, the carnage is kept to a minimum.
We wish Mr Bousigues all the best for his future.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured images adapted from Christopher Bousigues on Facebook and courtesy of Pontiac Land Group.
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