It’s not unusual for employees across various companies to occasionally take office supplies. A missing pencil or some printer paper often goes unnoticed. However, Tesla’s factory in Germany is dealing with a more significant issue—the disappearance of approximately 65,000 coffee mugs.
During a staff meeting, Andre Thierig, the plant manager of Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg, addressed some of the facility’s 12,000 employees. Amid discussions on workers’ safety and pay, Thierig highlighted the issue of the missing coffee mugs, according to a recording obtained by Handelsblatt.
“We’ve bought 65,000 coffee mugs since we started production here,” Thierig said, according to DW. “Statistically speaking, each of you already has five Ikea coffee cups at home.”
Thierig expressed frustration over the thefts and warned that cutlery might be removed from the break room if the situation continued. However, employees found some humor in his remarks, applauding and laughing, DW reports.
Yet, the coffee cup issue is minor compared to Tesla’s other challenges in the region. The company has faced protests from climate groups, including an attack on an electricity transmission tower by one group, the Volcano Group, over expansion plans that involve clearing forest areas. Despite these protests, local officials have approved Tesla’s plans, although there have been some delays.
In April, as part of CEO Elon Musk’s cost-cutting initiatives, Tesla laid off around 400 workers from the German plant, according to Reuters. Globally, the automaker has laid off at least 14,000 employees.
The German plant has also been accused of violating environmental laws, health regulations, and worker safety laws since starting production two years ago. Last year, Stern reported that Tesla had logged three times more emergencies than Audi’s plant in Ingolstadt.
“While the whole world thinks we are only busy with mugs, we actually care about the most important asset of our Gigafactory – our people. We listened to their feedback and finally finished our newest employee facility,” Thierig wrote on LinkedIn Thursday, addressing media reports on the missing mugs. Tesla celebrated the “pre-opening” of its new “Giga Gym,” Thierig added.