Tesla Appoints Former Mercedes Manager As Head Of Production At Giga Berlin Following Major Global Reorganization: Report

EV giant Tesla Inc TSLA has reportedly appointed former Mercedes manager Christian Adrian as head of production at its sole gigafactory in Europe after several departures.

What Happened: Adrian will be responsible for all production processes at Giga Berlin, Handelsblatt reported, citing plant manager Andre Thierig. The battery cell manufacturing division, however, will not be under the new head.

Adrian will also take over the duties of Heiko Steinmetz who resigned in the middle of May, forcing the factory to make organizational changes, Thierig reportedly told his workforce at a company meeting. Steinmetz was the Managing Director of Powertrain Manufacturing.

According to Adrian’s LinkedIn profile, he has been at Tesla since October 2020 when he joined as a new product introduction manager. Adrian currently occupies the position of Director of Vehicle Manufacturing.

He was previously employed at Mercedes-Benz and Beijing Benz Automotive.

Why It Matters: Tesla’s leadership across the globe has been undergoing an overhaul, particularly after the company announced a layoff impacting at least 14,000 employees worldwide in late April. Musk then said that the massive layoff was necessary "to reorganize and streamline the company for the next phase of growth."

The long list of executives to have left the company since include Senior Director of Charging Infrastructure Rebecca Tinucci, Director of New Product Introduction Daniel Ho, Senior Vice President of Powertrain and Energy Engineering Drew Baglino, And Vice President of Public Policy and Business Development Rohan Patel, among others.

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Photo courtesy: Tesla