The head of HR at Tesla is stepping down from the position after multiple racism controversies

Tesla Human Resource head and its top-ranked diversity advocate, Valerie Capers Workman, departs for a new position at career-network company Handshake, leaving the top car manufacturers without a leader following uncountable racism controversies in the previous years.

Email from the former HR, Capers Workman, confirmed that she would join the new position at Handshake next week. Her role as Tesla’s VP of human resources will end this month.

Tesla’s head of human resources and one of its highest-ranking Black leaders, Valerie Capers Workman, is departing for a new job https://t.co/QpLPQb1MeK

— Bloomberg (@business) January 10, 2022

Workman has been backing the company on racial issues and played a key role in representing the company well during the Covid times. In recent years, her department saw the most significant changes in the company.

In 2018, Tesla had dealt with a raft of top positions departures. However, the turnover has settled again following the soar in the company’s stock prices.

With a 50 percent climb in Tesla shares last year and an additional 743 percent increase in 2020, the company has gained its strength back. Tesla did not respond to further details on its executives’ moves.

“I am proud of all that I was able to accomplish at Tesla with the support of truly excellent colleagues, especially the People and Legal teams,” said Workman in an email. In her email, she also cited her experience in track and field, “where I needed to pass off the baton in a better place than when I received it.”

Workman further stated that she was “confident that I have done this at Tesla with the implementation of so many important programs for employees worldwide.”

Workman joined Tesla’s legal department back in 2018. Later in 2020, after assessing her dedication to work, the company promoted her to vice president of human resources position. She reported directly to the CEO of the company, Elon Musk.

During workman’s time in Tesla, the company battled with racial lawsuits, introduced its first-ever Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion reports, navigated Covid surges, and allowed the workforce to take paid offs to celebrate Juneteenth.

The company featured Workman in its DEI report as a person who swiftly rose from the bottom position to the HR head for multiple regions and ultimately landed the executive role in her last few years of service to the company.

“My promotions are illustrative of one of the things I love most about Tesla; here, you are never typecast into doing just one thing,” wrote Workman in the previous year’s December report.