Layoffs have become a common occurrence across industries, reflecting the volatile nature of today's business landscape. Various factors, including technological disruptions, economic fluctuations, and shifting market dynamics, contribute to the frequency of workforce reductions. The latest company that might resort to layoff is Elon Musk’s Tesla. 

Managers at Tesla have reportedly been questioning the importance of each employee's role, sparking concerns about potential layoffs within the company, according to Bloomberg. 

After halting biannual performance reviews for certain employees, the company reportedly sent out concise queries for each job position, revealed Bloomberg. As of December 31 last year, the electric automaker had a global workforce of 140,473 employees. 

In premarket trading, Tesla shares experienced a 2.7% increase, although they have declined by over 25% since the beginning of the year. This development follows CEO Elon Musk's caution about the slowing growth of sales for the year, despite previous price reductions that have impacted margins, reported Reuters.  

Such actions have raised investor apprehensions regarding weakened demand and competition from Chinese manufacturers for the world's leading automaker. 

Despite Tesla's efforts to stimulate sales through discounts, China, the primary market for new energy vehicles, saw its first month-on-month decline in January due to reduced demand. In the fourth quarter, the U.S. automaker also relinquished its position as the leading electric vehicle (EV) maker by sales to China's BYD.