BERLIN, April 18 (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.