Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse for the S&P 500’s worst-performing stock… they do. EV giant TeslaTSLA

announced it would lay off ~10% of its global workforce to be “lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle,” according to CEO Elon Musk. This 14K job cut represents the single worst layoff event since 2020 — even surpassing individual layoffs at GoogleGOOG

, MetaMETA

, and AmazonAMZN

.

• The move comes after a year of falling Tesla sales, prompting the automaker to drop prices on virtually all of its models — while punting plans for an affordable EV.
• While layoffs have generally been lauded by investors, Tesla’s stock fell more than 5% on Monday — bringing the company’s year-to-date decline to 35%.

No rest for the wicked: Investors were warned that 2024 would see slower sales as the company wrestled with higher interest rates and prepared for 2025. Meanwhile, attempts to enthuse investors by teasing a new Robotaxi business have been overshadowed by concerns. According to Wedbush’s Dan Ives, Tesla is now facing a “Category 5 demand storm” — and “an unexpected delay” in the company’s electric pickup deliveries is making investors even more nervous.

Read: After A Surprising 2023, Tesla Warns 2024 Will Be Slower — And Investors Have Reason to Worry