Tesla gives Giga Berlin workers another pay raise
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.Tesla announced a pay raise for Giga Berlin workers starting October 1, 2026. Production staff will receive a 5% increase, while skilled workers get 4% plus performance bonuses. This move precedes IG Metall's bargaining round on October 7, where the union seeks a 5% hike and collective agreement adoption. Tesla has raised wages annually since 2022. The announcement coincides with plans to boost weekly production to 7,500 vehicles and hire 3,500 new workers.
Tesla is giving workers at Giga Berlin another pay raise, increasing wages by as much as 5% starting October 1, 2026.
Production employees, who make up most of the nearly 12,000 people working at the Grünheide factory, will receive a 5% increase. Skilled workers will get a 4% raise along with a new performance-based bonus.
According to Handelsblatt, the bonus applies to workers in pay grades S3 through S6 who received a rating of at least 3.5 in each of their last two performance reviews. Employees in the lowest S1 and S2 grades do not receive performance reviews and will instead get the full 5% increase.
Tesla says the starting salary for production workers will rise to about €45,750 per year, which the company says is above the collectively agreed rate. Handelsblatt notes that figure includes Tesla stock.
The raise was announced to employees Monday by plant manager André Thierig and HR head Erik Demmler. Tesla has increased pay every year since production began at Giga Berlin in March 2022, most recently raising wages by 4% in December 2025.
The timing comes just ahead of IG Metall’s next bargaining round for Germany’s metal and electrical industry, which begins October 7. The union is seeking a 5% increase and continues to push Tesla to adopt a collective agreement at Giga Berlin.
“It’s good that there’s a pay raise. Our colleagues at Tesla have more than earned it through their hard work,” said Jan Otto, IG Metall’s district head for Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony. However, Otto argued Tesla still falls short of the union’s auto-industry standards and criticized the lack of holiday and Christmas bonuses.
The raise also comes as Tesla prepares to increase Giga Berlin production to 7,500 vehicles per week this year and hire up to 3,500 additional workers.
The plant also builds Canadian-spec Model Ys for export to Canada, and delivery estimates for new Canadian Model Y orders have recently stretched into 2027.