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Tesla says it has a plan to improve conditions for its workers

February 5, 2018

The car maker is trying to get out from under a cloud that has hovered over its assembly plant in Fremont, California, for some time now.

On the floor: Some employees have said they receive “near the lowest pay in the automotive industry” and struggle to get workers’ compensation. Reports of high injury rates have been blamed on the company’s failure to follow through on policies like rotating workers every two hours.

A push for change: The Tesla Fremont plant is the only non-union US-owned automotive plant in the country. Elon Musk was not happy about the push to unionize last year as a result of dissatisfaction with working conditions.

Making things safer: Tesla is getting set to automate worker rotations. According to Buzzfeed, it is also hiring a medical director, and looking to increase the number of doctors on site. Tesla expects its serious injury rate for 2017 to be below the national average—a major improvement from 2015, when it was double the average.

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