50 Nations Work at Tesla Giga Berlin Reaching Company's 1/3 of The Target

According to the Brandenburg state government , the US electric car manufacturer Tesla employs around a third of the targeted number in its first European factory in Grünheide near Berlin . "A little over 4,000 employees have been hired so far," said Economics Minister Jörg Steinbach (SPD) on Wednesday in the state parliament's economic committee, t-online reports today.

They come from 50 nations. Half of the employees live in Berlin, around 40 percent live in Brandenburg and ten percent abroad .

Tesla plans that 12,000 employees will produce 500,000 cars a year in the first expansion phase of the factory. The company had announced that ramping up production would take time.

Giga Berlin's one shift per day

According to the state government, the electric cars have so far been manufactured in one-shift operation. "The second shift is scheduled to start in the second quarter," said Steinbach. "A third shift will then be planned depending on the production ramp-up."

Applications are currently being processed for 145 training and dual study places. If all positions were filled, Tesla would be the largest training company in Brandenburg.

Giga Berlin was opened on March 22 in the presence of Tesla boss Elon Musk and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). Critics fear negative consequences for the environment because part of the site is located in a water protection area. From Monday to May 20th, the responsible Brandenburg authorities will check whether the state requirements have been complied with during construction and operation.

Armen Hareyan is the founder and the Editor in Chief of Torque News. He founded TorqueNews.com in 2010, which since then has been publishing expert news and analysis about the automotive industry. He can be reached at Torque News Twitter, Facebok, Linkedin and Youtube.