BERLIN (Reuters) - Tesla has let go of 300 temporary workers in Germany in keeping with their contract period, the e-car maker said on Thursday, amid a drive by the company to slim down its global workforce by 10%.

"These are not layoffs of Tesla workers," said a spokesperson for the company in Germany, where it operates its European gigafactory.

"As far as we are aware, our contractual partner has already been able to transfer the majority of these de-registered temporary workers to new employment with other customers," the spokesperson added in an emailed statement to Reuters.