US car manufacturer Tesla says fewer than 3,000 jobs will be cut at its only European plant near Berlin, after announcing plans to cut 10% of its global workforce.
In an internal email on Tuesday, chief executive Elon Musk said he wants to make the cuts, affecting an estimated 14,000 employees worldwide, in view of the slump in the market for electric cars and weak sales worldwide.
"We are convinced that only an efficient and lean organization is well positioned for future challenges. Our experience shows that this approach contributes significantly to our success," a Tesla spokeswoman in Grünheide said when asked on Tuesday.
Tesla's large plant, dubbed a gigafactory, is located in the small community of Grünheide just beyond the city limits of Berlin in the state of Brandenburg.
Regarding the announced job cuts, the statement said: "We are examining this measure and will pursue it for the Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg against the background of all labour law and co-determination requirements with the involvement of the works council."
The figure of 3,000 jobs affected mentioned in media reports is "completely unfounded."
There was initially no information on how many jobs could be affected at the electric car manufacturer in Grünheide. More than 12,000 people currently work at the plant.
Tesla's plans to expand the factory recently sparked a dispute. In addition, an attack on the car factory's power supply caused uncertainty.
During a visit to the factory in Grünheide in March, tech billionaire Musk said that he was sticking to his expansion plans.
Meanwhile, environmental groups continue to protest against expansion plans by the e-car manufacturer: some activists have been occupying the forest area near the factory and camping in tree houses since the end of February.
Tesla is feeling the effects of the tough price war in China, the largest car market, and delivered almost 387,000 cars worldwide in the first quarter, surprisingly fewer than a year earlier. After years of strong demand, there have been doubts about the pace of growth in the electric car market.