Autobauer: Interne Dokumente: Tesla ändert offenbar die Vergütung in Deutschland

Düsseldorf. Tesla, the US electric vehicle manufacturer, appears to be altering the compensation system for its employees in Germany, according to internal documents obtained by Handelsblatt. Instead of significantly raising base salaries, the company plans to focus on additional bonuses, stock options, or Restricted Stock Units (RSU).

These RSU are stock promises given to employees only after a certain period. Tesla calls this program "Equity Refresh." The global initiative intends to align the equity-based compensation with new target values and ensure that employees in the same or similar roles are paid similarly. According to documents specific to the German location in Grünheide, more than 80% of employees were expected to receive at least one such allocation in the first round this spring, compared to around 25% previously.

Unlike the previous method, only about five percent of employees on professional and management levels would benefit from an adjustment, with none mentioned for S-level positions, such as production workers. The new methodology is described as a "one-time global refresh" in the spring documents, but recent ones suggest two rounds per year, in the first and third quarters.

The basis for these changes will be new targets for equity-based compensation that Tesla has set for each position and career level. If the value falls short of the internal goal, Tesla may compensate the difference with additional allocations. For S-level employees, the original value of the allocation is considered, while for professional and management-level employees, the market value is taken into account.

The individual calculations may result in two employees in similar positions receiving vastly different results. "While money is good, the way this is measured seems arbitrary," said one employee to Handelsblatt. The additional compensation will only be available fully after four years. Tesla offers salary premiums, RSU, and stock options in 16 quarterly tranches over 48 months.

Anyone leaving Tesla may have to forfeit part of their payout. Tesla had previously struggled with high employee turnover. In its recent annual report, the company described equity-based compensation as an effective tool to retain employees in the long run, as rising stock prices align the interests of employees with those of shareholders.

However, Tesla's own description of the "Equity Refresh" and its participation conditions do not fully align. The company internally refers to the program as a "non-performance-oriented process," despite the performance evaluation determining who gets to participate. Employees excluded from the "Equity Refresh" include those who received less than three points in the latest evaluation cycle, interns, work students, temporary and contract workers, certain fixed-term employees, and those already expected to leave.

Another employee describes the new compensation system as "a good idea with a complicated execution." Employees received emails about it, but found the communication unengaging. The program and the calculations are also perceived as "not transparent" by the workforce. One employee is eager to know "when the first person sues." Tesla claims to have drawn on a number of companies "with which we compete for talent," including Meta and Microsoft, which have long been offering similar "refresh" programs.

The comparison group for the adjustment of salaries and equity-based compensation targets was approved by the Board of Directors and includes sectors such as automotive, engineering, and high-tech. Tesla plans to review the programs annually in the future.