When it comes to Tesla, the news is always varied. Recently, we learned that the Model Y is officially the most American car you can buy and that the automaker will be selling many of its Full Self Driving semi-autonomous assistance technologies as part of a much more affordable package. But on the other side of the coin, the bad news has been just as big. For one thing, a prominent Tesla investor has recently called the company out on its driver assistance systems, and now we've learned that almost 200 of Tesla's Autopilot employees responsible for training the company's artificial intelligence have been laid off.

The news comes via Bloomberg, with the agency reporting that this is part of CEO Elon Musk's latest announcement that Tesla needs to cut around 10% of its workforce. According to the reports, these new layoffs are centered on Tesla's San Mateo, California offices. This is where Autopilot is continually being developed. Many of the laid-off employees are said to have been hourly workers tasked with labeling training data, an essential part of developing AI systems. Unfortunately, this is typically a low-skill, low-pay sort of job, and many other firms tend to outsource this labor to less-developed countries where lower minimum wages are the norm. Analysts and supervisors have also reportedly been shown the door.

According to TechCrunch, Tesla's San Mateo office has dwindled by 195 people from an original headcount of 276, and the office itself is now closed. Yet more people could be laid off following Musk's comments that the US economy is on a downward trajectory and that Tesla is overstaffed. Initially, salaried workers were said to be the ones that would be affected by staff downsizing, but the loss of the San Mateo hourly workers shows that nobody's job is safe.

It's always grim pondering the loss of income for an individual or family, but with some suggesting that Tesla could face bankruptcy, it's better to consider the well-being of the whole. Hopefully, Tesla can return to growth soon. If only that damn Cybertruck were ready.