BERLIN, May 12 (Reuters) – U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla will increase its investment in battery cell production at its plant outside Berlin by almost $250 million, boosting its capacity target for the site, the company said on Tuesday.
Tesla announced in December investments amounting to almost 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) at the site in Gruenheide, south-east of the German capital, as it seeks to bring battery cell and vehicle production all under one roof from next year.
With the latest investment, Tesla plans to create the conditions for annual production capacity of 18 gigawatt hours, up from a previously planned 8 GWh.
“The ramp-up of battery cell production will also be accompanied by a significant increase in labour demand,” the company said in a statement, estimating its staffing needs in battery cell production at more than 1,500 employees.
Tesla currently employs almost 11,000 people in Gruenheide, the company’s only gigafactory in Europe.
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(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Rachel More; Editing by Linda Pasquini and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)