Tesla is reportedly firing SolarCity employees across the US

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Tesla is reportedly firing SolarCity employees across the US

elon musk lyndon rive

Mark Von Holden/AP

SolarCity Founder Lyndon Rive and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speak about the SolarCity IPO at NASDAQ in 2013. Rive has left SolarCity since Tesla acquired the company last year.

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  • Tesla has fired SolarCity employees at offices in Nevada, Arizona, and Utah, according to a CNBC report.
  • The firings are part of a spate of company-wide terminations that Tesla said were related to annual performance reviews.
  • Tesla has also fired 204 workers from its SolarCity office in Roseville, California.

Tesla is reportedly continuing to make cuts to its SolarCity business.

Tesla has fired an undisclosed number of SolarCity employees in offices in Nevada, Arizona, and Utah, CNBC's Lora Kolodny first reported. This is the first report of SolarCity firings to have occurred outside of its office in Roseville, California.

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Since August, Tesla has fired 204 SolarCity employees at its office in Roseville, California. Tesla has said the layoffs were part of an effort to centralize its "sales, customer support and information technology operations" after acquiring SolarCity in a deal worth $2.1 billion last November.

Tesla said at the time of the acquisition it would cut costs by $150 million in the first full year after closing the deal, which will occur November 21, 2017. SolarCity cofounders Peter and Lyndon Rive have both left the company since it was acquired by Tesla. The Rives are cousins of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

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But Tesla has also been firing employees across the company following annual performance reviews. The company has not disclosed which positions were eliminated or how many employees were let go, but a former employee told Reuters it was about 400 people.

A Tesla spokesperson said the SolarCity firings that have occurred in offices outside of Roseville were part of performance review-related terminations that began in early October.

But according to CNBC, some former employees claim that Tesla never conducted formal performance reviews at SolarCity since the acquisition.

A Tesla spokesperson referred Business Insider to a previous comment on company-wide terminations:

"Like all companies, Tesla conducts an annual performance review during which a manager and employee discuss the results that were achieved, as well as how those results were achieved, during the performance period. This includes both constructive feedback and recognition of top performers with additional compensation and equity awards, as well as promotions in many cases. As with any company, especially one of over 33,000 employees, performance reviews also occasionally result in employee departures. Tesla is continuing to grow and hire new employees around the world."

Get the latest Tesla stock price here.

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