
Tesla Temporarily Stops Model 3 Production Line - scottie_m
https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/16/17245186/tesla-model-3-electric-car-production-shutdown
======
rawland
My father is a shop floor worker at a major car manufacturer.

Stopping a production line during a ramp up for days is a normal part of the
business. When the line is already running, it is not the best of all news,
because something malfunctioned -- like a big press putting errors into some
bigger parts -- and needs to be reworked. Sometimes, however, they are
reworking the line. So these stops are planned and there usually also exists a
very detailed plan how to approach this. This is usually a high-stress
situation due to a standing production line causing a loss to the company, and
a separate specifically for this trained team is doing the rework with the
workers being concerned with the parts of the production line being the
'consultants' to this other team. Resp., helping operationally. During the
setup of the production line for a new model it is standing for weeks. Hence,
no one is having unpaid enforced vacation whatsoever. At least in Germany.

Smells like clickbait here.

~~~
danso
It doesn’t seem like your dad’s experience applies. Tesla workers are being
asked to take vacation days or to stay home. It’s also the second stoppage in
2 months.

[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-model-3/tesla-
tempo...](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-model-3/tesla-temporarily-
shuts-down-model-3-production-in-fremont-idUSKBN1HN347)

~~~
rawland
They cite BuzzFeed:

    
    
        BuzzFeed, which first reported the news, said
        workers were expected to use vacation days or
        stay home without pay during the four- to five-day
        production pause.
    

The thing is, during a ramp-up there are incentives to get the workers working
seven days a week, because they want to minimize the time the line stands
still. So usually he's taking that extra cash (and that's also how I found
out, as I was wondering why he's gone for the weekends, too).

~~~
rawland
OK, so, I showed the article to my dad. He wasn't surprised at all and told me
quite some stuff. Here is the summary of the interesting points:

* It is normal that people have (paid!) vacation when there is stuff to be done where maintenance only works. It is called 'Werksurlaub' (roughly: 'factory vacation') and this you-have-to-take-vacation-period is announced in the beginning of the year and it has been like that since 30 years him working there.

* When they need to retool, if possible (most of the time) the new tool is put in line behind the to-be-replaced tool without stopping the production line and then they run-in the new tool with taking over cycles gradually.

* When there are 'incidents' or the production line has to be stopped, this is announced ahead of time and the production workers have to take a so-called 'Kollektivfreischicht' (roughly: 'collective non-working shift'), where the whole line works overtime prior to the incident and then take time in lieu collectively. There is also a funny German word for this 'taking time in lieu', it is called '[Überstunden] abfeiern' (lit: 'to party down [overtime]').

Also, he told me some not very nice things about the automotive industry.
Especially when final assembly is standing still (unforeseen incident in
production line) - that is, hundreds of people unable to work and costing
money. I interpret this, however, as general property of the (automotive)
industry and you can read about it elsewhere.

~~~
sveme
You're talking about a German, highly regulated situation, which, while
interesting, might not really apply to the situation in the US and more
specifically at Tesla.

It's apparently quite sudden and unpaid, very different from your father's
situation.

~~~
rawland
I agree. Nevertheless, considering the topic of being pushed/forced to take
vacation because of maintenance: Same thing in 'traditional automotive
industry' in Germany is my impression.

------
burger_moon
>Tesla, however, says this is part of a planned period of downtime that was
similar to another shutdown in February, and it isn’t intended to have an
affect on the company’s current production targets for the car.

This seems like a story that is being pushed just because sites know it will
drive clicks but the actually news is well not really news.

~~~
danso
The original article said this:

> _The announcement of the four- to five-day production pause for the Model 3
> came without warning, according to Tesla employees who spoke with BuzzFeed
> News. During the pause, workers are expected to use vacation days or stay
> home without pay; a small number of workers may be offered paid work
> elsewhere in the factory._

[https://www.buzzfeed.com/carolineodonovan/tesla-
model-3-prod...](https://www.buzzfeed.com/carolineodonovan/tesla-
model-3-production-shutdown-delay-elon-musk)

~~~
bryanlarsen
Many of those workers have probably been racking up the overtime, so the break
shouldn't be bad financially and good for the mental health. But to do it
without warning is really shitty: a little bit of warning would have let a
proper vacation be planned. You know that vacation requests will be denied
once it gets started again.

~~~
apexalpha
These kind of mindtricks to justify situations where workers are fucked is
exactly the reason why I support laws that protect workers from this.

~~~
bambataa
The other thing that I find really odd about American working conditions is
that it seems quite routine for leave requests to be cancelled. What if you've
already booked a holiday, or promised family you'll go somewhere?

Apple rumour sites always giddily report cancelled leave requests. I find it
bizarre.

------
jmheinkle
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the likely true reason behind this
stoppage: the “burst rate” production and other shenanigans Tesla has put on
at the end of its most recent quarters.

These tricks artificially boost its weekly production for the quarterly
reports. After the cameras are off, the burned out workers and other resources
need time to recuperate.

This shutdown period conveniently conceals this burnout. This is part of the
shell games Tesla has played, robbing from its future self to manufacture the
narrative it needs to maintain its share price in its stricken state.

~~~
Rattled
Reminds me of working in a telecoms manufacturer in 2000 before the .com
crash. There were times before end of quarter when unfinished devices were put
in trucks and sent for a drive around town, to return after inspections were
finished.

------
naskwo
Related to this? [https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-16/analyst-
spots-14-b...](https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-16/analyst-
spots-14-billion-hole-teslas-balance-sheet)

------
RcouF1uZ4gsC
From the BuzzFeed article that is linked [0].

> During the pause, workers are expected to use vacation days or stay home
> without pay; a small number of workers may be offered paid work elsewhere in
> the factory.

For these downtimes that are planned by the company, is it typical across the
industry that workers have to use vacation days or go without pay? Or is Tesla
shortchanging workers relative to other car manufacturers?

0\. [https://www.buzzfeed.com/carolineodonovan/tesla-
model-3-prod...](https://www.buzzfeed.com/carolineodonovan/tesla-
model-3-production-shutdown-delay-elon-musk?utm_term=.jnL1P5p2O#.xlqPwzjeG)

~~~
bluedino
GM, for instance, has a shutdown almost every summer. It's usually around two
weeks. It can be more, and a few workers stick around for the machines they
can't really turn off. They also get to do some maintenance as well as let
workers take time off in the summer, without affecting regular production.

Sometimes (when sales are slow and inventories are full) the shutdown lasts
longer than two weeks.

~~~
csours
To give a bit more context, hourly employees are laid off and draw
unemployment during these planned shutdowns. It sounds super weird, but it's
been happening for over 50 years, so everyone knows what they are getting
into. The same hourly employees are hired back again at the end of the
shutdown.

I'm not exactly sure what happens for downtime more than a couple shifts, but
I'm sure the union remembers it in the next negotiations.

~~~
jessaustin
Lots of people who work construction draw all winter.

~~~
hoofhearted
Where? Here in the D.C. area, construction does not stop because of weather.
The exception would be extreme weather such as hurricanes, lightning and rain
if the building was not closed in. It actually seems that construction
increases in the winter, I guess because of fresh budgets. There is a joke
that they only start breaking ground when it is the coldest time of the year.

~~~
jessaustin
This happens in DC too, although perhaps to a lesser extent due to your mild
climate. Some construction continues through the winter, and most carpenters
and laborers are happy to work instead of draw, but nobody is framing in the
snow. It's true that excavation is easier when the ground isn't muddy, so
"breaking ground" in the winter could make sense. You can't pour concrete when
it's freezing, though, so if the timing is wrong the rain could mess up the
excavation before you get a chance to place your forms.

------
paulcole
I suspected this might happen after Musk said that Tesla would be profitable
soon.

If they’re losing money when they make cars, the logical choice should be to
stop making cars. By doing so they should achieve profitability.

This is why Musk is an icon. He sees opportunities others don’t and is willing
to defy convention.

