Former Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) employees have filed a lawsuit against the US electric car company alleging its decision to carry out a "mass layoff" violated federal law as the company did not provide advance notice of the job cuts, Reuters reports.
The lawsuit was filed late Sunday in Texas by two workers who said they were terminated from Tesla's gigafactory plant in Sparks, Nevada in June. According to the suit, more than 500 employees were terminated at the Nevada factory.
The workers allege the company failed to adhere to federal laws on mass layoffs that require a 60-day notification period under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, according to the lawsuit.
They are seeking class action status for all former Tesla employees throughout the United States who were laid off in May or June without advance notice.
"Tesla has simply notified the employees that their terminations would be effective immediately," the complaint said.
Tesla, which has not commented on numbers of layoffs, did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the lawsuit.
Musk, the world's richest person, said earlier this month he had a "super bad feeling" about the economy and that Tesla needed to cut staff by about 10%, according to an email seen by Reuters.
More than 20 people identifying themselves as Tesla employees said they were laid off, let go or had positions terminated this month, according to online postings and interviews with Reuters.
