I relocated across the country when Tesla asked. Then I was laid off 6 months later.

• On Sunday night, Elon Musk sent a company-wide email to Tesla staff announcing a workforce reduction of more than 10%.

• One laid-off Tesla worker said they moved about 6 months ago for the job before being let go.

• They moved cross-country after Tesla offered them a stipend to do it.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a former Tesla employee who was laid off on Sunday night and requested anonymity to protect their privacy. Business Insider has verified their identity and employment. A spokesperson for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I started at Tesla as a commercial field services technician during the pandemic. I handled the troubleshooting and maintenance for Tesla's energy department.

I started out with the company in California and since have moved twice while working for Tesla.

I just moved across the country for the job six months ago.

Tesla transferred me to one of its southern regions to service its energy department. The company needed someone in the region and hadn't had anybody on the ground there for over a year. People had to fly out to the area periodically to service it.

For a while, I was flying out. For like a period of three months, I was two weeks on, two weeks off, just picking up the slack.

Then Tesla asked me if I'd consider moving out there with my wife. I told them I'd only consider it if they paid for our move. They ended up helping with the relocation process and offered a stipend.

We packed up and left in about a week. We sold most of our stuff and rented a big U-Haul to drive down.

I was completely blindsided when I woke up on Monday morning to the layoff notice.