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Injury-Related Time Off for Tesla Workers Doubled in 2018
Injuries per work hour at Tesla Inc. were roughly unchanged last year, but the average time spent off the job because of injuries nearly doubled, Bloomberg News reports.
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Injuries per work hour at Tesla Inc. were roughly unchanged last year, but the average time spent off the job because of injuries nearly doubled, according to company data reported to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The statistics underscore the stress on Tesla’s workforce as the company scrambled to overcome production hurdles and hike output of the company’s Model 3 electric sedan, Bloomberg News suggests.
The news service cites experts who say the sharp increase in the length of medical absences—to 66 work days in 2018 from 35 in 2017—implies the injuries were more severe. Tesla disagrees. The company says the figures show Tesla dramatically increased production with no significant change in injuries per hour worked. There also were no fatalities.
Tesla adds that about two-thirds of reported injuries in 2018 were “cumulative trauma” to the back, hands, neck, shoulders and wrists caused by the repetitive nature of assembly line jobs. The company asserts there is no correlation between days absent and the severity of the injury.
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