Tesla, Inc., in the wake of a challenging first quarter, is experiencing a wave of departures among its senior executives. Allie Arebalo, the head of Human Resources and one of the company’s most senior women, is the latest high-profile departure from the electric vehicle giant.
Arebalo, who had been with Tesla for over six years, served as the Senior Director of North American HR since February 2023, according to her LinkedIn profile. While the circumstances of her departure are unclear, Bloomberg reports, citing two unnamed sources, that she has left the company.
Her exit follows closely on the heels of Drew Baglino, who announced his departure a few weeks ago after an impressive 18-year tenure at Tesla. Baglino, formerly the senior vice president of powertrain and engineering, was one of the highest-ranking executives at the company. In a post on X, Baglino mentioned having no immediate plans for the future.
I made the difficult decision to move on from Tesla after 18 years yesterday. I am so thankful to have worked with and learned from the countless incredibly talented people at Tesla over the years.
I loved tackling nearly 🤣 every problem we solved as a team and feel gratified…
— Drew Baglino (@baglino) April 15, 2024
These departures come amidst a broader restructuring effort at Tesla, which reportedly aims to reduce its workforce by 20 percent. The company has already laid off thousands of employees, including its entire supercharger team, as it seeks to streamline operations and cut costs.
Despite CEO Elon Musk’s assurance that development of the company’s charging infrastructure will continue, albeit at a slower pace, Tesla is scaling back its R&D efforts. Reports indicate that Tesla has abandoned its ambitious gigacasting project and halted development of the Model 2.
These cost-cutting measures come in the wake of a challenging start to 2024 for Tesla. The company missed Wall Street sales expectations in the first quarter, and its share prices have declined by more than 25 percent since the beginning of the year.
